Judith Collins MP
National Party Welfare Spokeswoman

20 February 2005

Benson-Pope should resign or be sacked

National Party Welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins is repeating her call for David Benson-Pope to resign or be sacked over his handling of a police report into historical assault allegations.

“Mr Benson-Pope should do the right thing and resign. He can no longer be seen as an effective advocate for vulnerable children - a key part of his job as Social Development Minister,” says Ms Collins.

She says the latest revelations on the Benson-Pope case look particularly bad, given that he faced no sanction whatsoever for his selective pre-leaking of an official police report.

“The Investigate magazine claims that Mr Benson-Pope has been granted special treatment because he is a Minister. This is a serious allegation that the police must deal with.

“Helen Clark had hoped this issue would disappear over the summer break. It clearly hasn’t.

“Helen Clark claims she has never read the police report or its executive summary. This is a lame excuse; she has all the reason she needs to sack her lame duck Minister.

“I cannot draw conclusions about what the Minister may or may not have done all those years ago.

“But I do question whether this Minister can still do an effective job and whether, as a Minister, he’s conducted himself appropriately throughout the course of the police inquiry,” says Ms Collins.

ENDS

© Scoop Media