David Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Veterans' Affairs | |
| In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Bill English |
| Preceded by | Craig Foss |
| Succeeded by | Ron Mark |
| Minister for Food Safety | |
| In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Bill English |
| Preceded by | Jo Goodhew |
| Succeeded by | Damien O'Connor |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forNationalparty list | |
| In office 17 October 2020 – 14 October 2023 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forHamilton East | |
| In office 17 September 2005 – 17 October 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Dianne Yates |
| Succeeded by | Jamie Strange |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Allister Bennett (1970-10-28)28 October 1970 (age 55) Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Signature |  |
| Website | davidbennett |
David Allister Bennett (born 28 October 1970) is a New Zealand formerNational Party politician. He was theMember of Parliament forHamilton East from 2005 to 2020 and alist MP from 2020 to 2023. He was Minister for Food Safety and Minister of Veterans' Affairs in the final year of theFifth National Government.
Bennett was born on 28 October 1970 inHamilton. He attendedSt John's College, Hamilton before gaining anLLB and aBCA fromVictoria University of Wellington.[1] Bennett owns twodairy farms nearTe Awamutu, is partner in a third, and has also worked as anaccountant forKPMG, inAuckland.[2][3]
| 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 | |
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | List | 11 | National | |
In the2005 election, Bennett stood as the National Party's candidate for theHamilton East seat. He was successful, defeating the incumbent MP,Dianne Yates of theLabour Party.[4] In his maiden speech, he remarked that at age 34, he was the youngest National MP elected at that election.[5] In his first term, he was a member of the Transport and Industrial Relations committee.[6] He was an associate spokesperson for transport under National leaderJohn Key from 1 December 2006.[7]
Bennett retained Hamilton East for the duration of theFifth National Government.[8][9][10] He was a member of theFinance and Expenditure Committee from December 2008 to January 2017 (the last two years as chair), the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee from December 2008 to August 2014 (the last three years as chair), and the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee from 2014 to 2017.
He was appointed Minister for Food Safety, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, and Associate Minister of Transport (outside Cabinet) afterBill English became Prime Minister in December 2016, and was additionally appointedMinister of Racing in 2017.[11][12] On appointment, Bennett noted he was the first MP for a Hamilton electorate to become a minister since 1984 (whenIan Shearer completed a term as Minister for the Environment).[13] He introduced the Government's Racing Amendment Bill in July 2017 but it was abandoned after National lost the 2017 election.[14][15]
At the2017 general election, Bennett retained Hamilton East by 5,810 votes over new Labour candidateJamie Strange,[16] but lost to Strange by a margin of 2,973 votes at the2020 general election. Despite that loss, he was returned as a list MP.[17][18]
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 ofBill English, corrections and land information underSimon Bridges, agriculture underTodd Muller andJudith Collins, and economic and regional development underChristopher Luxon.[6]
Bennett briefly served as anAssistant Speaker of the House in August 2022.[19] He retired at the2023 New Zealand general election.[20]
In 2024,Judith Collins, theMinister of Science, Innovation and Technology, appointed Bennett to the board ofCallaghan Innovation.[21]
In 2005, Bennett voted for theMarriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill, which would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.[22] He opposed theMarriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill at its first and second readings in 2012 and 2013, but voted in support at its final reading in 2013.[23] He supported theConversion Practices Bill at second and third reading in 2022.[24]
In 2009, Bennett voted against theMisuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, a bill aimed at amending theMisuse of Drugs Act so that cannabis could be used for medical purposes.[25]
In 2019 and 2020, he voted for theAbortion Legislation Bill at all stages. In 2022, he supported theContraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill at its second and third reading.
Bennett was in a long-distance relationship with Australian senatorBridget 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.[26][27] On 26 July 2022 Bennett announced his intention to step down from Parliament at the 2023 election in order to spend more time with his fiancee Nicky Preston and their first child.[20]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Hamilton East 2005–2020 | Succeeded by |
