Benjamin Doyle
Benjamin Cody Doyle (born 1991 or 1992) is a former New Zealand politician, having served as the country's first non-binary member of parliament from October 2024 until October 2025, representing the Green Party as a list MP.
Benjamin Doyle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Doyle in 2023 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green party list | |
| In office 22 October 2024 – 3 October 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Darleen Tana[n 1] |
| Succeeded by | Mike Davidson[n 2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Cody Doyle[1] 1991 or 1992 (age 33–34) |
| Party | Green |
| Children | 1 |
Benjamin Cody Doyle (born 1991 or 1992) is a former New Zealand politician, having served as the country's first non-binary member of parliament from October 2024 until October 2025, representing the Green Party as a list MP.
Early and personal life
[edit]Doyle was born in 1991 or 1992,[2] and grew up in Whangaparāoa.[3] Doyle is of Ngāpuhi, Scottish, and Irish descent. Doyle lived in Auckland through high school and university.[4]
Doyle was a teacher at Auckland Girls' Grammar School and Manurewa High School.[4] Later, they held positions of head of Māori at Melville High School and head of social sciences at Rototuna Senior High School.[5][6] They then worked as a kaupapa Māori researcher and facilitator at the University of Waikato,[6] and as a community organiser for artists and LGBTQIA+ communities.[7] Until becoming an MP, they worked at Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.[4]
Doyle is non-binary, takatāpui and disabled.[5][8][9] As of 2024[update], they live in Hamilton with their partner and child.[4]
Political career
[edit]| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–2025 | 54th | List | 18 | Green | |
2023 general election
[edit]Doyle spoke against allowing the anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (known as Posie Parker) into New Zealand, saying "Posie Parker should not be allowed into Aotearoa. In letting her enter, the minister has chosen to allow hateful anti-trans rhetoric into Aotearoa. That is unacceptable."[6]
Doyle contested the Hamilton West electorate in the 2023 election.[7] They were 18th on the Green Party list.[10] Doyle came third in the Hamilton West electorate with 3,230 votes.[11] The Green Party won 12 list seats in the election, and therefore Doyle was not elected at 18th on the party list.[12]
First term, 2024–2025
[edit]Doyle was declared elected on 22 October 2024 following the removal of Darleen Tana as a list MP earlier that month.[1] They said about Tana's removal:[4]
I made a really intentional decision about not getting involved in that because I was aware of the fact that I was implicated in it. But if I was seen to be involved in that process, it would be perceived as biased and it would be perceived as having motivations.
Doyle was the first non-binary member of parliament.[4] In their first term, they were a member of the Māori Affairs committee and the Green Party spokesperson for ACC, internal affairs, and takatāpui and rainbow communities, associate spokesperson for education with a focus on Māori and early childhood education and associate spokesperson for health with a focus on sexual and reproductive health.[13]
In early 2025, businessman and former New Zealand First member Rhys Williams launched a social media campaign targeting Doyle over a photo album Doyle had posted to their personal Instagram account, @biblebeltbussy, in 2023.[14] The album, captioned "bussy galore", garnered controversy over the inclusion of a photo of Doyle posing with their child. On 9 April, Doyle addressed a press conference where they explained that their social media posts did not have a sexual meaning, and that they had received "a significant number of threats to my life and the safety of my child and family."[15]
On 5 September 2025, Doyle announced they would be resigning from Parliament on 3 October 2025, citing safety concerns.[16] During their farewell speech at Parliament, Doyle described Parliament as a "hostile and toxic place that wasn't built for people like them.[17] Their resignation took effect at 11:59 p.m. on 3 October.[18]
In mid-September 2025, Doyle later told Te Ao Māori News that they had experienced a "relentless campaign of threats, break-ins, threats against their child, assaults and police interventions" as a result of Williams' social media campaign. By 21 September, Police had charged over 10 individuals for threats or actions against them. Police had also issued formal warnings to four individuals for breaching the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 and were investigating five other cases at the time of writing.[19] On 10 October, Police charged a 19-year old man with making death threats against Doyle via a social media platform.[20]
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Tana was removed during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Doyle.
- ^ Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Doyle resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Davidson.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Temel, Kristina (22 October 2024). "Declaration by Electoral Commission That Benjamin Cody Doyle is Elected a Member of Parliament". New Zealand Gazette. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ Lardies, Gabi (23 October 2024). "Who is Benjamin Doyle, the soon-to-be Green MP replacing Darleen Tana?". The Spinoff. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ "Benjamin Doyle profile". University of Waikato.
- ^ a b c d e f Lines-MacKenzie, Jo (4 November 2024). "Meet Parliament's first non-binary member". Waikato Times. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Benjamin Doyle candidate profile". Green Party. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Allen, Benji (24 March 2023). "New Hamilton West Candidate Condemns Posie Parker". Waikato Independent.
- ^ a b "Green Party Announces Benjamin Doyle As Candidate For Hamilton West". Scoop New Zealand. 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Who is Benjamin Doyle, who the Greens want to replace Darleen Tana?". Radio New Zealand. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Te Wake, Whatitiri; Gunson, Isaac (25 October 2024). "Exclusive: Meet Benjamin Doyle, the Green Party's newest MP". Te Ao Māori News.
- ^ "Green Party candidate list includes nine Māori". Te Ao News. 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Hamilton West - Official Result". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "2023 General Election - Official Result". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Doyle, Benjamin - New Zealand Parliament, retrieved 2 April 2025
- ^ Vance, Andrea; Mitchell, Charlie (9 April 2025). "Businessman behind toxic online Benjamin Doyle campaign". The Post. Archived from the original on 9 April 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ Ensor, Jamie (9 April 2025). "Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle admits political naivety in refusing to delete social media posts". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ McConnell, Glenn (5 September 2025). "Green MP Benjamin Doyle resigns, citing safety concerns". Stuff.
- ^ Hanly, Lillian (19 September 2026). "Green MP Benjamin Doyle farewells 'hostile and toxic' Parliament". RNZ. Archived from the original on 3 December 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ^ "Notice of vacancy in seat in House of Representatives". New Zealand Gazette. 6 October 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ^ Dunlop, Mani (21 September 2025). "'A tsunami of hate' Doyle reveals extent of abuse, threats and police charges and decision to leave politics". Te Ao Māori News. Archived from the original on 21 September 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ "19-year-old charged after sending death threats to Green MP who since resigned". Stuff. 10 October 2025. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
