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IR-01-23-741
17 February 2023
Erika Whittome (Transfer from Justice)
[FYI request #21536 email]
Tēnā koe Erika
Request for information
Thank you for your request, transferred to Police on 11 January 2023, in which you requested
the following:
In March 2022, there were 122 people arrested and charged with trespassing on
Parliament’s front lawn in the first week of the protest that lasted nearly a month.
The number of total arrests from the protests is more than double that, with 253 people
charged “in relation to protest activity” according to police in this NZ Herald article
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/parliament-protests-charges-dropped-for-some-after-
month-long-occupation/LN773X6BEFGSJGIN4HN5O4VD3U/
What is the cost to date for these prosecutions in the NZ Court System?
What is the budgeted cost for 2023 to continue with the remaining charges?
Your request has been considered in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA),
and I can now provide the following response.
As Police does not separately record the costs associated with individual prosecutions, we are
unable to provide you the total expenditure to date on prosecutions associated with the protest
surrounding Parliament in February and March 2022. We can also confirm that there is no
specific budget for prosecuting any remaining charges in 2023.
Your request is therefore refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information is not held
by Police, and we have no grounds for believing that the information is held by another
department (for itself and for a departmental agency hosted by it or an interdepartmental
executive board serviced by it) or interdepartmental venture or Minister of the Crown or
organisation, or by a local authority.
As you may be aware, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) has commenced an
independent investigation and review (Review) of the policing of the occupation on and around
Parliament grounds in Wellington during February and March 2022 (Protest).
Details of the scope of the Review are available on the IPCA’s website
1 and you wil note this
scope includes the powers used to keep the peace, maintain public safety, enforce the law, and
provide community support and reassurance, and the tactical exercise of those powers. It also
includes how Police balanced the rights of protesters with the rights of other people throughout
the course of the Protest.
1
https://www.ipca.govt.nz/Site/publications-and-media/2022-media-releases/2022-mar-24-
investigation-review-occupation-parliament.aspx
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Telephone: 04 474 9499. www.police.govt.nz
Whilst this Review is underway, information relating to the issues under investigation and review
is expected to be the subject of examination by the IPCA under its powers of investigation under
the IPCA Act 1988. With this Review commenced, there is a strong public interest in allowing
these matters to be considered in the round by the IPCA.
The IPCA anticipates the Review wil be completed and reported on by 31 March 2023. Police
recognises the importance of transparency in these matters and looks forward to the release of
the IPCA’s report, at which time more detailed information regarding the Police response to the
Protest is likely to be publicly available.
Please note that as part of its commitment to openness and transparency, Police proactively
releases some information and documents that may be of interest to the public. An anonymised
version of this response may be publicly released on the New Zealand Police website.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are not satisfied with the
response to your request. Information about how to make a complaint is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Nāku noa, nā
PP.David Greig
Superintendent
New Zealand Police
