David Bennett (New Zealand politician)

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The Honourable

David Bennett

MP
Minister of Veterans' Affairs
In office
20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017
Prime MinisterBill English
Preceded byCraig Foss
Succeeded byRon Mark
Minister for Food Safety
In office
20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017
Prime MinisterBill English
Preceded byJo Goodhew
Succeeded byDamien O'Connor
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for National party list
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Hamilton East
In office
17 September 2005 – 17 October 2020
Preceded byDianne Yates
Succeeded byJamie Strange
Personal details
Born
David Allister Bennett

(1970-10-28) 28 October 1970 (age 50)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Political partyNational
Signature
Websitedavidbennett.co.nz

David Allister Bennett (born 28 October 1970) is a New Zealand politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, representing the Hamilton East electorate for the National Party.

Early years[]

Bennett was born on 28 October 1970 in Hamilton. He attended St John's College, Hamilton before gaining an LLB and a BCA from Victoria University of Wellington. Bennett owns two dairy farms near Te Awamutu, and has also worked as an accountant for KPMG, in Auckland.[citation needed]

Member of Parliament[]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2005–2008 48th Hamilton East 32 National
2008–2011 49th Hamilton East 44 National
2011–2014 50th Hamilton East 48 National
2014–2017 51st Hamilton East 37 National
2017–2020 52nd Hamilton East 24 National
2020–present 53rd List 11 National

Fifth Labour Government, 2005–2008[]

In the 2005 election, Bennett stood as the National Party's candidate for the Hamilton East seat. He was successful, defeating the incumbent MP, Dianne Yates of the Labour Party.[1] He retained his position as the Member for Hamilton East until his electoral defeat during the 2020 New Zealand general election.[2]

In 2005, Bennett voted for the Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill 2005, which would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.[3]

Fifth National Government, 2008–2017[]

During the 2008 general election, Bennett retained Hamilton East by a margin of 8,820 votes, defeating Labour candidate Sue Moroney.[4] During the Fifth National Government, Bennett served as the Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, and a member of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee.[5]

In 2009, Bennett voted against the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, a bill aimed at amending the Misuse of Drugs Act so that cannabis could be used for medical purposes.[6]

During the 2011 general election, Bennett retained Hamilton East by a margin of 8,275 votes.[7]

During the 2014 general election, Bennett retained Hamilton East by a margin of 10,199 seats.[8]

He was appointed Minister for Food Safety and Minister for Veterans' Affairs outside Cabinet after Bill English became Prime Minister in 2016, and was additionally appointed Minister of Racing in 2017.[9][10]

Sixth Labour Government, 2017–2020[]

During the 2017 general election, Bennett retained Hamilton East by 5,810 votes.[11]

The National Party was in opposition from October 2017. Bennett held various spokesperson roles for the party, including food safety and racing under the leadership of Bill English, corrections and land information under Simon Bridges, and agriculture under Todd Muller and Judith Collins.[12]

During the 2020 general election, Bennett was defeated by Labour candidate Jamie Strange by a margin of 2,973 votes.[13] Despite this loss, he was re-elected to Parliament on the National Party list.[14]

Personal life[]

Bennett was in a long-distance relationship with Australian senator Bridget McKenzie and both are members of their respective countries' National Parties with Senator McKenzie having served as her party's deputy leader between 2017 and 2020.[15][16]

References[]

  1. ^ "Official Count Results -- Hamilton East". Electoral Commission. 1 October 2005. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  2. ^ Whyte, Anna (18 October 2020). "Analysis: The winners, losers, new faces and goodbyes of election 2020". 1 News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill – First Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 7 December 2005. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Official Count Results -- Hamilton East". Electoral Commission. 22 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill — First Reading". Hansard. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand House of Representatives. 655: 4850. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Official Count Results -- Hamilton East". Electoral Commission. 10 December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Official Count Results -- Hamilton East". Electoral Commission. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  9. ^ MacKenzie, Jo-Lines (3 January 2017). "David Bennett is Hamilton's first minister in 33 years". Stuff. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Minister hoping for first reading before election". Otago Daily Times. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Hamilton East - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Bennett, David". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Hamilton East - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 November 2020.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums - Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Trans-Tasman relations: Long-distance love for Hamilton East MP David Bennett, who confirms he is in a relationship with Australian senator". The New Zealand Herald. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  16. ^ Bridget McKenzie: New Zealand enchants another National, The Australian, 9 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.

External links[]

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Dianne Yates 		Member of Parliament for Hamilton East
2005–2020 		Succeeded by
Jamie Strange
Retrieved from ""