A change decision announced yesterday will see a net loss of 60 jobs, with another 66 fixed-term roles to close.
"These cuts mean more child exploitation and violent extremism: it's that simple. These cuts are dangerous and irresponsible and will do harm," Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, says.
"The latest cuts come on top of heavy job losses over the past few years. These teams have been reduced so much that it is impossible to expect the same output of them.
Some of the critical workers affected is the Digital Safety team, who monitor online extremism and work with other agencies to shut down emerging threats.
"The Digital Safety team has been so understaffed that they have not been able to proactively scan for emerging threats and trends in violent extremism for the past 18 months. This scanning is crucial for early threat detection and informing law enforcement. Without it, the team are operating reactively, which increases risks to public safety.
"The loss of this expertise is hugely damaging for New Zealand, these experts are world-renowned.
"Digital Safety work with domestic and international agencies to prevent online harm in relation to child sexual exploitation and violent extremist content. This team needs more investment, not less, as extremists are becoming more sophisticated every day.
"These workers say that the persistent reductions to their team over the years has led not only to increased pressure on them but a degradation of the critical function they carry out.
"We urge the DIA to listen to their own staff and put in place the right resources to protect New Zealanders from predators and bad actors online."
