If you have noticed an increase in anti-everything sentiment here in Noosa, you might be surprised to discover that it is not an organic community feeling. Instead, this type of orchestrated disruption is integral to the objectives of sovereign citizens.

The terms “Sovereign citizens”, “SovCits”, or “sovereign people” may be new to many, however you may recognise some of the people or wording they hide behind. The terms are used throughout the world to identify people with a constantly expanding range of anti-government ideologies. They hold beliefs that include their right to opt out of being subject to government law.  SovCits often apply curated interpretations of human rights law, common law principles, and have even been known to quote the Magna Carta to legitimise their beliefs. 

By attaching themselves to community issues of concern, and then amplifying those issues via social media and – where possible – our mainstream media, their anti-government views have become loud and often ugly voices, including right here in Noosa. 

Rarely, if ever, do their individual voices openly declare their SovCit ethos so it’s not surprising that most of us are unaware of the extent to which they have begun to dig into local issues and politics. However, just a modest amount of research reveals who they are (when they use their true identities), and how they are now dominating community conversations, particularly on social media.

So who are they? What do they really want? And why is it important for us all to acknowledge their existence, and to carefully assess their claims in light of their overall objectives? 

SovCits believe that by declaring themselves to be “living people” or “natural people”, they can break all contracts with the government, and avoid the requirement to pay certain rates, taxes, and fines, to register their vehicles, or to hold a driver’s license — or to obey other government mandates.

Members of SovCit groups are often people who have been challenged by legal issues, have financial problems or, most commonly, have suffered some type of perceived unwarranted injustices by government agencies or authorities, e.g. refusal of development applications, losing jobs for refusing vaccinations, have their business interests threatened by council decisions (regardless of the greater good).

The notion of SovCits is not a new, or purely Australian, phenomenon. Some of us will remember how back in the 1970’s West Australian farmer Leonard Casely, claimed his property had ceded from Australia, and would henceforth be known as Hutt River Province. His family legacy was a multi-million dollar tax debt.

The modern Sovereign Citizen movement appears to have its origins in the USA in the 1970s, with one of that country’s most famous SovCits being Terry Nichols, one of the Oklahoma City bombing conspirators, who, together with Tim McVeigh, carried out an attack on a government building resulting in the deaths of 168 people. 

There is little doubt that the movement has been growing in Australia over the last few decades, but it is generally agreed that the COVID pandemic/lockdowns/vaccines debates created a fertile ground for a variety of grievances and anti-government rhetoric so intrinsic to such groups. 

When writing about  the tragic events in Wieambilla where 2 police officers and one neighbour were murdered, Joanne Grey, a scholar with the University of Sydney, has said:

“… that research suggests that people who have a distrust of institutions and are looking for someone to blame, may be more vulnerable to conspiracy theories (Baker, 2023). She says:

Elements of conspiracy theories are often adopted into the narratives of individuals who feel persecuted or harmed by governments or legal systems, as they may provide ‘victimhood narratives’ to explain perceived persecution or harm.”

People were confined to their homes for weeks and months at a time, and many were only connected to the outside world through the internet, and the internet delivered an ever-growing number of sites devoted to conspiracy theories to which the vulnerable subscribed. There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with broadening research beyond mainstream media (MSM), but the inability or unwillingness to undertake rigorous fact checking led many people down rabbit holes from which they have not yet been able, or willing, to emerge.  

SovCits are adept at identifying areas of community discontent, particularly discontent with local councils, and they are quick to attach themselves to causes, and put their voices behind emotive issues, including The Voice Referendum, 5G, fluoridation of water, “chemtrails”, 15 minute towns, etc, and inserting their own baseless claims, backed by pseudo-science, on topics as diverse as McDonalds, Bill Gates, and government-control conspiracies.  The majority of the content they share is US-based.

The aggressive and ugly ways in which their arguments are delivered, how they so easily hit the ‘share’ button, amplifying mistruths and vacuous claims is mind boggling. Some have labeled SovCits “domestic terrorists” and it is no secret that these groups are on the radar of the Australian Federal Police.

Disruptors on First Nations issues

Of particular concern is their attachment to First Nations groups, especially when combined with the involvement of more extreme alt-right groups. 

“Anecdotal evidence from native title practitioners suggests that Sovereign Citizen narratives are becoming increasingly common in the native title sector. Anti-State and conspiracist thinking disrupts the progress of native title claims by casting native title practitioners as agents of an evil, illegitimate corporation posing as government, thus introducing additional conflict, fear, and distrust to native title consultative processes.” 

Pascale Taplin, Claire Holland, and Lorelei Billing in the Australian Journal of Anthropology.

We have seen evidence of this involvement right here in Noosa with local (and not-so-local) people claiming to speak on behalf of the Kabi Kabi people.

SovCit Groups In Australia

There is a growing number of SovCit groups and political parties emerging in Australia – some come and go, others with more evangelistic leaders are growing, and will no doubt continue to grow as we approach more local, state and Federal elections. Some to be aware of are:

• MyPlace
• Terra Australis State Assembly
• Sovereign Citizens Australia
• Advance Australia
• Australia One Party (A1)
• United Rights Australia
• Original Sovereign Tribal Federation (OSTF)

It is the MyPlace/Community Village (TAFE site) group that has really targeted Noosa, starting with the lead up to this year’s local government elections. Because of the SovCits’ aggressive use of social media, other disgruntled Noosa groups, candidates, and individuals are connecting with these SovCits and using their reach to help amplify their grievances. A weird type of symbiotic relationship has developed.

There appears to be some competition for membership between these groups – something of a turf war – with MyPlace’s leader, recently posting:

Tying Up The Courts

If you know of a case that is before the courts in Australia, but which is taking an inordinate amount of time to be heard, here is some food for thought. Magistrates are telling us that SovCits have become a concerning burden on our court system both through vexatious litigation (one magistrate is currently being sued by a SovCit for “$10 million”) and by stretching out the time of hearings. For example, one Magistrate has described picking up a file for a parking fine and finding 300 pages of pseudo legal arguments being put forward by this particular SovCit. The strain on the courts is obvious and frustrating. 

No case relying on sovereign citizenship arguments has yet to be won in an Australian court”.  However there are certainly cases where SovCits have lost cases and been ordered to pay fines and court costs stretching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Dr Catherine Greentree from Macquarie University

SovCits here In Noosa

The “MyPlace” SovCit group, with its founding branch in Victoria, has Facebook groups around the country, including Maroochydore, Noosa, and Gympie. Unsurprisingly the Victoria-based ‘founder’ is an administrator of all of these Facebook groups. 

In the last 12 months we have seen how the SovCit movement has identified Noosa community issues and made them their own, amplifying the arguments, while at the same time building their memberships and aligning themselves with Facebook groups like the Boating and Fishing Alliance and disgruntled, unsuccessful mayoral and councillor candidates. 

The local MyPlace group has members who stood for Noosa Council elections (despite not recognising Council authority and local laws), 

Members of the LNP, local real estate identities, along with many members from outside of Noosa delight in sharing posts from other MyPlace Groups.

They have been actively involved in:

• Amplifying the protest over the Draft Noosa River Plan V2, including the demonstration outside of Council Chambers.
• Trespassing on the former Noosa TAFE in January (which they named the “Community Village Tewantin”) and encouraging members of the community to join them. One LNP member and councillor candidate who was there is still a member of the MyPlace Noosa Facebook group.
• The fielding of councillor candidates, and working with the Boating Fishing Alliance to spread their mistruths at polling booths. The leader of MyPlace has been clear that his objective is for MyPlace members to take “control of council decisions”.
• An ongoing campaign to use social media to post negative comments about Noosa council staff and those councillors whom they did not support in the March elections.
• The Draft Foreshore Plan was not received well by the people of Noosa (including me). Again the SovCits identified public discontent and amplified it, not by issuing clear and concise points to help with individual submissions, but by organising a protest. 

Freedom of speech is something we all cherish, and freedom to disagree with others is also a right. However, when the information shared is inaccurate, skewed, exaggerated, or designed to disguise one group’s objective of disrupting the course of true narrative (don’t forget the quote “it is my democratic right to lie” during the local government election), it must be challenged. The posts also diminish the impact of those from our community who have real concerns and real issues that they want to share.

The long-winded posts that are being fed to SovCit members for distribution and sharing, particularly in relation to Noosa Council, are becoming tiresome, but are revealing the behind-the-headline agendas of these people: undermine local government at every opportunity. 

The vitriol that we are seeing (often from members of MyPlace), after a person expresses an alternative view on social media is, in my opinion, getting way out of hand, resulting in people now feeling the need to post anonymously for fear of verbal attack. This is not the Australian way, and it is not the Noosa way, and we should all come to the defense of those who dare to voice a contrary opinion.

(While transparency is at the core of what we do, on this occasion Noosa Matters has decided not to publish the name of the author because of what we consider to be valid security concerns.)