To: Chief Executive Officer Michael McCartney
Cc:- Rachel Keedwell Chair Horizons
Cc: Bruce Gordon ex chair and audit committee member

Horizons Regional Council
Email: [email address]

Subject: Official Information Request under LGOIMA – Environmental Plans & River Accord Involvement (DMPFarm)
Kia ora,
This is a request for official information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).

1. As a confirmed owner of DMPFarm (as per your rates records and previous correspondence), I have been seeking access to information held by Horizons Regional Council (HRC) relating to Environmental Farm Plans (EFPs) and any associated grants, reports, or site visits relevant to my property.

2. I have previously been advised that I may be charged for the provision of this information, on the grounds that it may take substantial staff time to locate. I have referred this matter to the Ombudsman for consideration.

3. In the meantime, through my own research, I have located public references which should greatly assist your team in identifying the specific documents I am seeking.
In particular, I refer you to the document:

• “13170 Annex A – Horizons 2013 Environmental Committee”, which discusses EFPs, grants, and implementation progress under the Manawatū River Leaders Accord.

Notably:
• On pages 18–19 of the report, it refers to Derek Ryan of HRC visiting "all dairy property owners" and signing up the farmers to the Accord.
• Derek Ryan is also listed as an author of an EFP related to my property (DMPFarm) and remains employed by HRC as a Project Coordinator for Environmental Plans.2025
• The same document ““13170 Annex A – Horizons 2013 Environmental Committee”” lists Jon Roygard (Freshwater and Science Manager) and Grant Cooper (Manager) as contributors to the document . It is also likely that Logan Brown is familiar with the relevant document and has sighted the documents.
Given this, I am now narrowing and formalising my request as follows:

Official Information Requested:
1.A copy of the “signed up” document or agreement that relates to DMPFarm under the River Accord initiative, as referred to in the 2013 report. I understand there may be more than one document involved.

2The date(s) of visits by Derek Ryan to DMPFarm in relation to the River Accord or Environmental Planning. And copy of the meeting notes .

3 The names of property owners visited by Derek Ryan as part of the sign-up process mentioned in the 2013 Environmental Committee report.
Additional Notes:
• Please acknowledge this request promptly as required under the Act.
please confirm a copy of this request has been sento
Chief Executive Officer Michael McCartney
Rachel Keedwell Chair Horizons
Bruce Gordon ex chair and member of the Audit committee
• I understand that HRC has 20 working days to respond, however, given the specificity and public availability of much of the information referenced, I believe this request can be fulfilled in a shorter timeframe. As a show of good faith, I request that the “signed documents” be provided within 10 working days.
• If any part of this request requires clarification, or if any information is to be withheld under a statutory reason, please advise accordingly. you have my contact details

Ngā mihi,

Gerard Paver

Dear HRC
thank you for your automated reply

for further clarity - and avoidance of doubt

When I am asking for the names of the property owners visited by Derek Ryan as referred to in the HRC environmental report committee report 2013 I am asking for the recorded names of the parties who Derek Ryan Visited ie:- property owners referenced in the report, these may not necessarily be the legal property owners or legal farmer.
The names visited will be in Derek Ryans Diary notes , the project Diary notes and records and of course in the signed documents.
hence the requests for copes of the documents

sincerely,

Gerard Paver

To: Michael McCartney, Chief Executive Officer, Horizons Regional Council
Cc: Rachel Keedwell, Chair, Horizons Regional Council
Cc: Bruce Gordon, Former Chair and Current Audit Committee Member
Subject: Failure to Disclose Key Documentation – LGOIMA Request and Concerns Regarding Maladministration and Misuse of Public Funds
Dear Mr McCartney,
I write to formally express my concern regarding Horizons Regional Council’s (HRC) failure to adequately respond to my Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request. HRC has, in my view, evaded its obligation to produce key documentation by claiming relevant records were deleted — despite their legal significance.
Please do not further delay your response, particularly in providing the specific documents identified below. I now wish to clarify the basis of my continued request and raise the following points:
________________________________________
1. Context and Harm
1.1 We have suffered both direct and indirect financial loss as a result of what I believe to be maladministration by HRC.
1.2 This information request is also made in the public interest. It aims to improve transparency in HRC’s grant management process and to highlight risks for other elderly landowners who may have been similarly affected or misinformed.
________________________________________
2. Public Disclosure and Opportunity for Private Engagement
2.1 HRC chose to publish the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) document containing the names of parties involved, rather than engage with me directly and privately, despite having my contact details.
2.2 The option for private clarification remains open. I welcome a direct discussion to resolve this matter constructively.
________________________________________
3. Deleted Documents and Key Legal Records
3.1 HRC has advised that records and notes from Derek Ryan’s visit to our farm, including meetings with the sharemilker, were deleted.
3.2 However, the signed document provided by the sharemilker was a foundational agreement between HRC and “DMPFarm” that triggered the release of public grant funding. As such, it should have been retained under public records legislation.
3.3 Any subsequent engagement with Landvision would have followed this agreement. Contractual documentation should therefore exist to support both the validity of the agreement and the disbursement of funds.
________________________________________
4. Timeline of Requests and Disclosures
4.1 In 2018, I formally requested all documentation related to this matter from Grant Cooper. No documents were provided.
4.2 In 2019, I raised the possibility of fraud in a meeting with yourself and Mr Bruce Gordon ex chair and current member of the Audit and Risk committee. I was assured no legal documents existed.
4.3 Later in 2019, Logan Brown confirmed the existence of a document signed by the sharemilker. I now formally request that this document be disclosed under LGOIMA.
4.4 In 2024, Jon Roygard acknowledged unauthorised use of public funds.
4.5 However, Craig Grant advised that it would cost approximately $2,155 to provide:
• All fencing-related grant information;
• Details on the grant application process relating to our farm;
• Records regarding EFP development and site visits;
• And correspondence or approvals involving any third party who claimed to represent the farm.
This fee appears excessive and obstructive, especially given the context of prior nondisclosure and the strong public interest in resolving the matter transparently.
________________________________________
5. Concerns Regarding the EFP Document
5.1 HRC provided a copy of the EFP with the statement “as agreed.” I dispute this claim. No such agreement exists, and the document was never provided to the farm owners prior to 2017/18.
Key facts include:
5.2 Prior to June 2013, HRC’s Derek Ryan signed up a party (the sharemilker) as the owner of “DMPFarm.”
5.3 At the time, the sharemilker managed only the dairy component of the farm — the smaller part. The remaining land (sheep and beef) was overseen by a consultant acting on behalf of the elderly owners.
5.4 The sharemilker had no legal or formal authority to act for the owners or the farm.
5.5 He never disclosed to the landowners the existence of any grants, the EFP, or any signed agreements, despite attending monthly meetings over several years.
5.6 The sharemilker was paid by the elderly owners to carry out extensive riparian fencing and planting — work that clearly qualified for public grant funding. Yet the landowners were never informed that funding had been accessed or was even available.
5.7 The EFP is dated 2016 and references internal HRC documents from 2015. Early drafts existed as far back as 2014. It was only disclosed by HRC following civil proceedings and formal requests made in 2017/18. The Sharemilker never produced the copy.
________________________________________
6. Legal References
To emphasise the seriousness of this matter and to discourage further deletion or suppression of records, I refer to the following sections of the Crimes Act 1961:
6.1 Section 240 – Obtaining by deception or causing loss by deception
6.2 Section 71 – Accessory after the fact
These provisions may be relevant given the misrepresentation involved and the apparent misuse of public funds.
________________________________________
7. Next Steps
I respectfully request that HRC:
7.1 Immediately provide the original signed document(s) between HRC and the sharemilker.
7.2 Disclose all correspondence, meeting notes, approvals, and internal discussions relating to the EFP process and visits to our farm.
7.3 Waive the $2,155 fee, given the significance of the public interest and previous withholding of information.
7.4 Provide details of all recipients of riparian fencing grants, including:
• Name of grant recipient.
• Name or location of farm.
• Amount of grant funding awarded (both Ministry and/or ratepayer funded amount);
• Year of grant approval.
Please note I will also file this as a separate request under FYI guidelines, but HRC may wish to proactively consider this request to avoid further scrutiny or escalation. I reserve the right to raise these matters with the Auditor-General if transparency continues to be lacking.
7.5 Confirm in writing what documentation (if any) has been actually deleted since my initial request to Grant Cooper 2018 and our subsequent meeting in 2019.
________________________________________
I have raised these matters with the Office of the Ombudsman and will continue to pursue that avenue if HRC does not meet its obligations under the law.
I trust this matter will now be addressed with the seriousness and transparency it warrants.