Glen Bennett

Jon O'Neill

​

(m. 2021)​

Glen Bennett MP
Bennett in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Labour Party list
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 March 2024

Glen Thomas Bennett ^[2] (born 1975or1976) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party. He was elected the Member of the Parliament for New Plymouth at the 2020 New Zealand general election, defeating the National candidate and incumbent Jonathan Young. ^[3] He lost his seat to David MacLeod in the 2023 general election, but re-entered parliament on the list in March 2024 following the retirement of Grant Robertson. Prior to entering politics, Bennett worked in the community sector for more than 20 years. ^[4]

Early life

Bennett was born in Dunedin. His parents were officers in The Salvation Army and frequently moved around the country. He attended Dominion Road School in Auckland, Shirley Boys' High School in Christchurch, and Rongotai College in Wellington. He spent two years working in television production, including such shows as Showcase, Fair Go , and McPhail and Gadsby. After witnessing poverty in Donetsk, Ukraine, on a trip with the Salvation Army in 2002, Bennett decided to foster troubled teen boys. ^[5]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament

Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
2020 –2023	53rd	New Plymouth	72		Labour
2024–present	54th	List	29		Labour

Bennett was a member of the New Plymouth branch of the Labour Party branch for over five years prior to his selection.^{[ citation needed ]} In late 2019, Bennett ran unopposed for the Labour nomination for the New Plymouth seat, ^[6] after serving on the local electorate executive for the previous two years.^{[ citation needed ]}

At the 2020 New Zealand general election, New Plymouth was not tipped as a seat to flip to Labour, with the party not having held the seat since 2008. However, Bennett defeated the incumbent National Party MP Jonathan Young by a margin of 2,555 votes. ^[7]

During the 2023 New Zealand general election, Bennett was unseated by National Party candidate David MacLeod, who won by a margin of 6,991 votes. ^[8]

On 20 February 2024, Grant Robertson announced that he would be retiring from Parliament in March 2024 to assume the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago. Since Robertson was a list candidate, Bennett re-entered Parliament on the Labour Party list as next in line. ^[9] Bennett assumed the economic development and associate energy portfolios after re-entering Parliament. ^{[10] [11]}

On 8 March 2025, Bennett gained the tourism and hospitality portfolio during a shadow cabinet reshuffle. He lost the economic development and associate energy portfolios. ^[12] On 11 March 2025, he was appointed Senior Whip of the Labour Party. ^[13]

Personal life

Bennett is openly gay, and became engaged to fiancé Jon O'Neill after a proposal on stage at a Troy Kingi concert in New Plymouth. ^[14] During the 2020 general election campaign, Bennett was accosted by a member of the public about his sexuality, which led to Andrew Little's stepping in to stop the abuse. ^[15] After being delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bennett and O'Neill were married at Parliament on 8 February 2021, the day before Bennett's maiden speech. ^[16]

Notes

1. Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Robertson resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Bennett.

References

1. "Bennett, Glen – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz.
2. "Event – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz.
3. "Election 2020: Labour supporters dance the conga after dramatic takeover of New Plymouth seat". 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
4. "Glen Bennett" . Retrieved 17 October 2020.
5. "Living the gospel". Taranaki Daily News. 6 August 2008 – via PressReader.
6. Ockhuysen, Stephanie (21 December 2019). "Labour Party announces new candidate for New Plymouth electorate". Stuff . Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
7. "New Plymouth – Official Result". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 12 November 2020.
8. "New Plymouth - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
9. "Declaration by Electoral Commission That Glen Thomas Bennett is Elected a Member of Parliament". New Zealand Gazette . 25 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
10. "Grant Robertson retires from politics, appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago". The New Zealand Herald . 20 February 2024. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
11. "Labour reshuffle: Edmonds moves up as Finance spokesperson". Radio New Zealand . 20 February 2024. Archived from the original on 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
12. Palmer, Russell (7 March 2025). "Chris Hipkins announces new Labour 'economic team', Tangi Utikere promoted". Radio New Zealand . Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
13. "Bennett, Glen". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
14. "Labour Party announces new candidate for New Plymouth electorate". Stuff. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
15. "Election 2020: Andrew Little steps in to stop abuse of gay Labour candidate". Stuff. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
16. Keith, Leighton (8 February 2021). "New Plymouth Labour MP Glen Bennett ties the knot in Parliament". Stuff.

External links

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Jonathan Young	Member of Parliament for New Plymouth 2020–2023	Succeeded by David MacLeod