David Benson-Pope

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The Honourable
David Benson-Pope
David Benson-Pope.jpg
12th Minister for the Environment
In office
19 October 2005 – 27 July 2007
Prime MinisterHelen Clark
Preceded byMarian Hobbs
Succeeded byDavid Parker (acting)
Trevor Mallard
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Dunedin South
In office
1999–2008
Preceded byDr Michael Cullen
Succeeded byClare Curran
Majority10,640 (30.27%)[1]
Personal details
Born1950 (age 71–72)
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Jan Flood
ChildrenTwo
OccupationTeacher

David Henry Benson-Pope (born 1950) is a New Zealand politician. He is a former Member of Parliament for Dunedin South and has been a member of the Dunedin City Council since 2013.

Benson-Pope previously served as a Dunedin city councillor from 1986 to 1999 and returned to local government after his parliamentary and ministerial career was ended by a series of misconduct allegations.

Early career[]

Born in Dunedin and educated at King's High School, Benson-Pope received his tertiary education at the University of Otago and at the Christchurch College of Education. While studying education he was president of the Students' Association at the college, and National President of the Student Teachers' Association of New Zealand.

Working as a teacher at Bayfield High School, where he taught German and outdoor education for 24 years,[2] he became involved in the teachers' unions and was first elected to the Dunedin City Council on a Labour Party ticket in October 1986.[3] He was re-elected to the city council four more times and resigned in 1999, when he successfully contested the Dunedin South electorate for the Labour Party.

Member of Parliament[]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1999–2002 46th Dunedin South 54 Labour
2002–2005 47th Dunedin South 36 Labour
2005–2008 48th Dunedin South 23 Labour

In 2002, Benson-Pope became his party's Senior Whip. He entered Cabinet in 2004, becoming Minister of Fisheries, Minister Responsible for the Law Commission, Associate Minister of Justice, Associate Minister for Education (schools) and Associate Minister for the Environment. He oversaw the drafting of the legislation for civil unions in New Zealand and gained a reputation as a political "Mr Fixit" and "master of the dark art of politics,"[2] but was also known as "difficult to deal with."[3]

Despite briefly losing his ministerial positions leading up to the 2005 general election due to allegations of misconduct during his teaching career, Benson-Pope was appointed Minister of Social Development and Employment and Minister for the Environment when that election returned the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand for a third term. He lost those positions in 2007 and served the final year of his parliamentary career on the backbench.

Allegations of misconduct as a teacher[]

Benson-Pope was temporarily stood down as a cabinet minister in 2005 after allegations from former students about the use of violence in the classroom. The allegations included stuffing a tennis ball in 14-year-old's mouth, throwing tennis balls at students to keep them quiet, striking a pupil with the back of his hand making the pupil's nose bleed at a school camp, and caning a student hard enough to draw blood. Benson-Pope denied the allegations.[4] Claims that he mislead Parliament were not referred to the Privileges Committee by the Speaker and after three weeks Benson-Pope was restored to his portfolios, except for his role as Associate Minister of Education.[5]

Further claims about Benson-Pope's conduct as a teacher were revealed the following year. Investigate magazine published, in February 2006, allegations that he entered the girls' dormitory on a school camp to awaken students twice, and that he told them once that they were taking too long to shower after a "mud run." Benson-Pope denied any impropriety.[6]

Allegations of misconduct as Minister for the Environment[]

Benson-Pope faced further controversy in 2007, which led to the resignation of his ministerial posts and the end of his Parliamentary career.

In July 2007 it emerged that a political advisor in Benson-Pope's office (the Labour Party's Trade Union Affiliate Vice-President Steve Hurring) made phone calls which led to the sacking of the Ministry for the Environment's newly appointed communications manager. The issue revolved around her relationship with the chief press secretary to National's parliamentary leader John Key, despite the fact that she had "made a disclosure of her personal connections" during the appointment process.[7][8][9][10] (Under New Zealand's State Sector Act 1988, ministers and their staff were prohibited from being involved in employment matters within government departments for which they are responsible. The Act requires the chief executives of those departments "to act independently of Ministers in matters relating to decisions on individual employees."[11])

After a week of intense pressure focusing not only on the allegation that his staff had acted improperly, but also that he himself had misled Parliament, the media and Prime Minister Helen Clark about his knowledge and involvement, Benson-Pope offered his resignation from Cabinet at noon on Friday 27 July 2007. Clark accepted the resignation, saying, "The way in which certain issues have been handled this week has led to a loss of credibility and on that basis I have accepted Mr Benson-Pope's offer to stand aside".[12] An editorial commented, "Not for the first time, he and the Government have been embarrassed less for what he has done than for his inability to simply say what he has done."[13]

Despite subsequent investigations by State Services Commissioner Mark Prebble and former State Services Commissioner Don Hunn found that neither the Minister nor his staff acted in any way inappropriately,[14][15] Benson-Pope remained a backbencher for the remainder of the parliamentary term. His resignation triggered a significant reshuffle of the Cabinet. Although Clark indicated that Benson-Pope could be returned to Cabinet at a later time,[16] he was not reselected as the Labour Party candidate for his electorate at the 2008 general election (which, in any event, Labour lost), and left Parliament.[17]

Later career[]

After losing his bid to remain Labour's Dunedin South candidate for the 2008 general election, Benson-Pope rejected an invitation to stand for the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party[18] and did not stand as an independent candidate.[17]

Returning to Dunedin, Benson-Pope worked as a resource consent manager and sought election to the Dunedin City Council in the 2013 local body elections.[15] He stood as an independent candidate and was elected on 12 October 2013.[19] He was re-elected in 2016 and 2019.[20][21]

During a live-streamed Zoom meeting of the city council held on 5 May 2020, Benson-Pope was seen in the camera of his computer cleaning his study with a feather duster whilst "pants-less". Members of the public, councillors and senior managers watched on as the meeting faced technological difficulties. Benson-Pope said he was not wearing pants but was wearing shorts after gardening earlier in the day and stated he was "delighted" that his cameo provided a welcome diversion but "it wasn't intentional."[22]

Personal life[]

Benson-Pope is married with twin children.[23]

References[]

  1. ^ At 2008 election
  2. ^ a b "Perfect attributes for career path". NZ Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Macdonald, Nikki (28 July 2007). "Final twist in a sorry tale". www.pressreader.com. Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Benson-Pope steps down as bully inquiry looms". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Benson-Pope papers rebut school assault claims". NZ Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  6. ^ Fisher, David (26 February 2006). "New questions for Benson-Pope". The New Zealand Herald.
  7. ^ "Briefing from State Services Commission received". Government of New Zealand. 20 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  8. ^ "Benson-Pope under fire". TV3. 28 July 2007.
  9. ^ Audrey, Young (21 July 2007). "Phone call that ended job". The New Zealand Herald.
  10. ^ "Trade Union Affiliates". Labour.org.nz. New Zealand Labour Party. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  11. ^ "State Sector Act 1988". Archived from the original on 17 October 2008.
  12. ^ "Benson-Pope resignation statements in full". The New Zealand Herald. 27 July 2007.
  13. ^ "Editorial: Inability to be 'free and frank' the last straw". The New Zealand Herald. 28 July 2007.
  14. ^ D K Hunn (12 November 2007). "Investigation into the public service recruitment and employment of Ms Madeleine Setchell" (PDF).
  15. ^ a b Morris, Chris (31 July 2013). "Benson-Pope eyes DCC seat". Odt.co.nz. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  16. ^ "David Benson-Pope resigns". Stuff. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Ousted Benson-Pope to stay loyal". Stuff. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  18. ^ Mackenzie, Dene (12 June 2008). "Party makes MP offer he can refuse". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  19. ^ "2013 - Dunedin City Council Final Results". Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Dunedin City Council results". Otago Daily Times Online News. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  21. ^ "DCC and community board results". Otago Daily Times Online News. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  22. ^ McNeilly, Hamish (5 May 2020). "No pants and a feather duster - welcome to Dunedin's revealing council meeting". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  23. ^ Mackenzie, Dene (26 September 2008). "Benson-Pope stands by Labour in valedictory speech". Odt.co.nz. Retrieved 14 October 2013.

Further reading[]

  • A determination relating to an appeal by Mr D Benson-Pope and three other persons against the decisions of the Dunedin City Council following a review of its membership and the basis of... (Report). Wellington, [N.Z.]: Local Government Commission. 1995.
  • Benson-Pope, David (2004). Review of sustainability measures and other management controls for the 2004–05 fishing year: adaptive management programme (Report). Wellington, [N.Z.]: Ministry of Fisheries.
  • Benson-Pope, David (2004). Setting of sustainability measures for green-lipped mussel stocks to be introduced into the quota management system on 1 October 2004 (Report). Wellington, [N.Z.]: Ministry of Fisheries.
  • Benson-Pope, David (2004). Setting of sustainability measures for stocks to be introduced into the quota management system on 1 October 2004 (Report). Wellington, [N.Z.]: Ministry of Fisheries.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Minister for the Environment
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
Trevor Mallard
(after David Parker as Acting Minister)
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Dr Michael Cullen
 Member of Parliament for Dunedin South
1999–2008 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Senior Whip of the Labour Party
2002–2004 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""