A serious complaint laid against controversial ‘Dirty Politics' author Nicky Hager is being dealt with at the 'very highest police level”.

That assurance from police was issued to Western Bay of Plenty district councillor Margaret Murray-Benge this evening.

Dilly Arnold and Margaret Murray-Benge at the Tauranga Police Station yesterday armed with their complaint. Photo: Ross Brown.

She and friend Dilly Arnold filed the complaint at Tauranga Police Station 24 hours and tonight Margaret checked to 'ensure it was being taken seriously and progressing through the system”.

Nicky Hager used emails from hacked computers to write the infamous book and Margaret wants a police investigation to determine whether his acts 'involved anything illegal”.

'There are people in the book who cannot defend themselves. And if Nicky Hager has issues why didn't he raise them at the time and not this close to a general election?”

Dilly questions whether it is okay to 'ransack someone's computer and profit from it”.

Margaret yesterday told SunLive she had the support of Tauranga City Councillor Bev Edlin, who would be joining her at the police station.

But SunLive later received an email from Bev distancing herself from the action.

She says 'it's not now something she wished to do”.

'Democracy is something we need to protect, not destroy. As the general election has been rolling out we have read and heard unnecessary commentary as a means of discrediting a party. People may say that is politics, I take the view it is not.”

Bev says she would prefer to hear policies and actions that lie at the heart of an election campaign.

'And in that sense I empathise with Margaret's view.”

SunLive understands police have told Margaret similar complaints had been laid by both the Government and the Labour Party in Wellington.

The councillor wants her complaint attached to that file.

'It's important that we register public concern as well”.