DAVID BENSON-POPE

'Parl.'	'Electorate'	'List Pos.'	'Party'
46th	Dunedin South	54	Labour
47th	Dunedin South	36	Labour
48th	Dunedin South	23	Labour

'David Henry Benson-Pope' (born 1950) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party, and was formerly a cabinet minister.
Benson-Pope was born in Dunedin and educated at the University of Otago and at the Christchurch College of Education. While studying education, he served as President of the Students' Association at the college, and National President of the Student Teachers' Association of New Zealand. Working as a teacher, he also became involved in the teachers' unions. Benson-Pope is married with two children who are twins named Henry Benson-Pope and Sammy Benson-Pope.

Contents

Career in politics

Allegations of misconduct as a teacher

2007 Environment Ministry allegations

Political offices

References

External links

Career in politics

In October 1986, Benson-Pope successfully stood for election to the Dunedin City Council. He entered national politics during the 1999 elections, successfully contesting the Dunedin South electorate for the Labour Party.
In 2002, Benson-Pope became his party's Senior Whip. In 2004, in the wake of a reshuffle, he entered Cabinet, 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 was responsible for drafting the legislation for civil unions in New Zealand. After the 2005 General Election Benson-Pope was appointed Minister of Social Development and Employment and Minister for the Environment.

Allegations of misconduct as a teacher

In May 2005 Benson-Pope was stood down from cabinet after allegations that he physically abused students while teaching at Bayfield High School in the 1980s. The allegations included charges he stuffed a tennis ball in a student's mouth and taped his hands to a desk, threw tennis balls at students' heads, caned a student until he bled, and smacked a student in the face with the back of his hand on a school camp, making his nose bleed. Benson-Pope strongly denies the accusations, and was temporarily relieved of his portfolios. When the Speaker Margaret Wilson decided that there was no case for the privileges committee, Benson-Pope was reinstated to all his portfolios apart from Associate Minister of Education.
In November 2005 it was reported that he wouldn't be prosecuted despite police finding that there was a prima facie case he had assaulted students.
''Investigate'' magazine in February 2006 published further allegations of improper behaviour during his teaching days. It said he forced students to stand outside for lengthy periods in their nightwear for misbehaviour during a school camp in the 1980s. An update on the magazine's website also claimed that Benson-Pope had entered the female dormitory and showers in 1997 while 14-year-old girls were undressed. Benson-Pope dismissed the allegations as nonsense.
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Parents complained about these and other incidents, and the school headmaster at the time says he discussed the complaints with Benson-Pope. Benson-Pope issued a public statement on 28 February 2006 saying that although a discussion had taken place, he had not seen a written complaint until yesterday. He apologised in Parliament to his former students, while maintaining he had done nothing inappropriate.
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2007 Environment Ministry allegations

In July 2007, Benson-Pope ran into further political trouble when it was revealed a political advisor in his 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 basis of this was her relationship with the chief press secretary to National's leader John Key, despite the fact that she had "made a disclosure of her personal connections" during the process.
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(Under New Zealand's State Sector Act, ministers and their staff are not allowed to become involved in employment matters within their ministries, with the law placing on CEOs of ministries a "duty to act independently of Ministers in matters relating to decisions on individual employees"). [1]
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 his Prime Minister about his knowledge and involvement Benson-Pope offered his resignation from Cabinet at noon, Friday 27 July 2007.
The Prime Minister Helen 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"''.
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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."''
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He remains a Member of Parliament.
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Political offices

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References

1. New questions for Benson-Pope David Fisher
2. Benson-Pope releases statement
3. Briefing from State Services Commission received
4. Benson-Pope under fire
5. Phone call that ended job Young Audrey
6. Trade Union Affiliates
7. Benson-Pope resignation statements in full
8. Editorial: Inability to be 'free and frank' the last straw
9. David Benson-Pope resigns Haydon Dewes

External links

★ NZ Parliament website details on David Benson-Pope

★ Labour Party website entry for David Benson-Pope

★ Timeline: Benson-Pope career controversy, from TV ONE