Kia ora William,
  

We acknowledge receipt of your official information request dated 26
August 2025. 

 
You have requested: 

 

 1. I read your webpage about released official information here
[1]https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/me....
One item there was about a sovereign citizen movement. In 2023 your
Chief Executive made the statement that the Council had sought
guidance from the Ombudsman and NZ Police regarding the Sovereign
Citizen Movement / Allodial Title Claims / Freeman Movement. Could you
please:

 

 a. release the email or letter how the Council requested such guidance
from the Ombudsman and NZ Police; and
 b. release the guidance that the Council then received back from the
Ombudsman and NZ Police

 We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and, in
any event, no later than 23 September 2025, being 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond by then, we
will notify you of an extension of that timeframe. For requests that are
likely to involve substantial collation and/or research, there may be a
charge for staff time. However, if this is the case, we will advise you
before we process your request, giving you the opportunity to decide
whether to proceed with the request.  

 

Your request is being handled by the Legal team. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact the team at
[2][email address]. If any additional factors relevant to your
request come to light, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these
can be considered. 

Yours sincerely,
Legal Services Officer

 

  ​​​​
LGOIMA
LGOIMA Requests
Call  +64 3 543 8400   |   [3][Tasman District Council request email]
Private Bag 4, Richmond 7050, NZ
[4][IMG] [5][IMG] [6][IMG]
This e-mail is confidential and may be subject to legal professional
privilege. If you are not the named addressee, please delete the
message and notify us of the error. You must not copy, use, or
disclose this communication, or any attachments or information in it.
​

show quoted sections

Kia ora William

 

We refer to your official information request dated 26 August 2025. Our
response is below:

 

 1. I read your webpage about released official information here
[1]https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/me....
One item there was about a sovereign citizen movement. In 2023 your
Chief Executive made the statement that the Council had sought
guidance from the Ombudsman and NZ Police regarding the Sovereign
Citizen Movement / Allodial Title Claims / Freeman Movement. Could you
please:

 a. release the email or letter how the Council requested such
guidance from the Ombudsman and NZ Police; and
 b. release the guidance that the Council then received back from the
Ombudsman and NZ Police

In response to part 1 a-b. Guidance was requested from the Office of the
Ombudsman over the phone, to summarize the conversation, the Office of the
Ombudsman directed Council to their [2]unreasonable complaints and
[3]trivial and vexatious guidelines.

Initial Correspondence with the New Zealand Police was made via email who
then reached out over the phone to arrange an in-person meeting. A copy of
this correspondence is attached.

 

[4]​pdf icon Combined documentation_Redacted.pdf

 

Redactions have been applied under section 7(2)(a) of the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) to protect the privacy
of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons.

 

During the meeting guidance was requested from the Police who in response
provided the attached document.

[5]​pdf icon Documentation provided by NZ Police.pdf

If you are not satisfied with the Council’s response, you have the right
to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman. Information on how
to make a complaint is available at [6]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by
freephone on 0800 802 602. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
Legal Services Officer

 

  ​​​​
LGOIMA
LGOIMA Requests
Call  +64 3 543 8400   |   [7][Tasman District Council request email]
Private Bag 4, Richmond 7050, NZ
[8][IMG] [9][IMG] [10][IMG]
This e-mail is confidential and may be subject to legal professional
privilege. If you are not the named addressee, please delete the
message and notify us of the error. You must not copy, use, or
disclose this communication, or any attachments or information in it.
​

From: LGOIMA <[Tasman District Council request email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 27 August 2025 8:45 am
To: William <[FOI #32128 email]>
Subject: LGOIMA request - Ombudsman and NZ Police guidance about Sovereign
Citizen Movement - William - Reference: 3107

 

Kia ora William,
  

We acknowledge receipt of your official information request dated 26
August 2025. 

 
You have requested: 

 

 1. I read your webpage about released official information here
[11]https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-council/me....
One item there was about a sovereign citizen movement. In 2023 your
Chief Executive made the statement that the Council had sought
guidance from the Ombudsman and NZ Police regarding the Sovereign
Citizen Movement / Allodial Title Claims / Freeman Movement. Could you
please:

 

 a. release the email or letter how the Council requested such guidance
from the Ombudsman and NZ Police; and
 b. release the guidance that the Council then received back from the
Ombudsman and NZ Police

 We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and, in
any event, no later than 23 September 2025, being 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond by then, we
will notify you of an extension of that timeframe. For requests that are
likely to involve substantial collation and/or research, there may be a
charge for staff time. However, if this is the case, we will advise you
before we process your request, giving you the opportunity to decide
whether to proceed with the request.  

 

Your request is being handled by the Legal team. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact the team at
[12][email address]. If any additional factors relevant to your
request come to light, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these
can be considered. 

Yours sincerely,
Legal Services Officer

 

  ​​​​
LGOIMA
LGOIMA Requests
Call  +64 3 543 8400   |   [13][Tasman District Council request email]
Private Bag 4, Richmond 7050, NZ
[14][IMG] [15][IMG] [16][IMG]
This e-mail is confidential and may be subject to legal professional
privilege. If you are not the named addressee, please delete the
message and notify us of the error. You must not copy, use, or
disclose this communication, or any attachments or information in it.
​

show quoted sections