Paula Bennett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Paula Bennett
Bennett in 2018
18th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
In office 12 December 2016 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	Bill English
Governor-General	Patsy Reddy
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	Winston Peters
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
In office 26 October 2017 – 22 May 2020
Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern
Leader	Bill English Simon Bridges
Preceded by	Kelvin Davis
Succeeded by	Nikki Kaye
Deputy Leader of the National Party
In office 12 December 2016 – 22 May 2020
Leader	Bill English Simon Bridges
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	Nikki Kaye
18th Minister of State Services
In office 8 October 2014 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	John Key Bill English
Preceded by	Jonathan Coleman
Succeeded by	Chris Hipkins
14th Minister for Women
In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	Bill English
Preceded by	Louise Upston
Succeeded by	Julie Anne Genter
35th Minister of Tourism
In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	Bill English
Preceded by	John Key
Succeeded by	Kelvin Davis
38th Minister of Police
In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	Bill English
Preceded by	Judith Collins
Succeeded by	Stuart Nash
5th Minister for Climate Change Issues
In office 14 December 2015 – 26 October 2017
Prime Minister	John Key Bill English
Preceded by	Tim Groser
Succeeded by	James Shaw
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Waitakere
In office 8 December 2008 – 14 August 2014
Preceded by	Lynne Pillay
Succeeded by	constituency abolished
Majority	9
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Upper Harbour
In office 21 September 2014 – 17 October 2020
Preceded by	constituency established
Succeeded by	Vanushi Walters
Majority	9,692
Personal details
Born	(1969-04-09) 9 April 1969 (age 55) Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	National Party
Spouse	Alan Philps
Children	1
Alma mater	Massey University (BA)
Occupation	Recruitment consultant

Paula Lee Bennett (born 9 April 1969) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 2020 and as MP for Upper Harbour from 2014 to 2020.

Bennett previously represented the electorate of Waitakere, which was abolished prior to the 2014 general election. She held the Cabinet portfolios of State Services, Women, Tourism, Police, and Climate Change Issues in the fifth National Government until 2017. She retired from Parliament at the 2020 general election.

Early life and career

Bennett was born on 9 April 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand, the daughter of Bob Bennett and Lee Bennett. She has Tainui ancestry through her half-Māori paternal grandmother, Ailsa Bennett. Her father had a flooring business in Auckland, then in 1974 bought the village store at Kinloch, near Taupo. Bennett attended Taupo-nui-a-Tia College in Taupo. At 17 she gave birth to a daughter, Ana, and raised her alone while working in hospitality and tourism-industry jobs or, at times, receiving the Domestic Purposes Benefit.

In 1992 Bennett moved to Auckland, where she worked in a rest home, first as a kitchenhand and then as a nurse aide. She began studying social work at the Albany campus of Massey University in 1994. She became the welfare officer of the Massey University at Albany Students' Association, then, in 1996, the president, which she said gave her a taste for politics. She discontinued the social work component of her course of study, leaving simply social policy, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.

After graduating, Bennett worked as an electorate secretary for Murray McCully, National Party member of Parliament for East Coast Bays, until the 1999 general election. She then worked as a recruitment consultant for several years and assisted McCully in the 2002 general election campaign.

Political career

Fifth Labour Government, 2005–2008

In the 2005 general election Bennett stood as the National Party candidate for the Waitakere seat, with a ranking of 45th on National's party list. She failed to win Waitakere, but entered Parliament as a list MP. National did not have sufficient parliamentary support to form a government.

In opposition, Bennett was appointed National's associate spokesperson for welfare and liaison to the community and voluntary sector under Don Brash from 2005 to 2006 and associate spokesperson for education (early childhood education) under John Key from 2006 to 2008.

In the 2008 election, she unseated Waitakere MP Lynne Pillay, winning the seat with a majority of 632. Bennett was appointed to several cabinet roles in the new National-led government.

Fifth National Government, 2008–2017

Bennett as Deputy Prime Minister, with Prime Minister Bill English, 2016

As a senior minister in the Fifth National Government, Bennett was best known for leading social welfare reforms as Minister of Social Development from 2008 to 2014. During that time she was also Minister of Youth Affairs (2008–2013), Minister for Disability Issues (2008–2009), and Associate Minister of Housing (2013–14). In the government's third term, she was Minister of State Services (2014–2017), Minister of Social Housing (2014–2016), Associate Minister of Finance (2014–2016), Minister of Local Government (2014–2015) and Minister for Climate Change Issues (2015–2017) before becoming Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Women, Minister of Police, and Minister of Tourism (2016–2017).

Bennett's appointment as Minister of Social Development and Employment after the 2008 election was regarded by some commentators as a "surprise." She had been ranked at 41st on the party list prior to the election and the social development portfolio had previously been held by senior MP Judith Collins. It was expected that Bennett's background as a former beneficiary would give the portfolio a "softer face" than under Collins, who was instead appointed Minister of Police and Minister of Corrections.

Bennett faced criticism in enacting welfare reform during her first and second terms in government, especially around her previous use of government support programs. Scrutiny came from both members of parliament and from people on government incomes. In particular, the Training Incentive Allowance (TIA) was abolished under her leadership, after she had received this allowance herself as a student, and the requirement for single parents in receipt of the domestic purposes benefit was changed, with beneficiaries having to look for part-time work when their child turned six instead of eighteen. Bennett had her first child at 17 and was at times on a domestic purposes benefit. In response to criticisms, Bennett said that times were different 25 years later, and that beneficiaries get more (in 2012) than they did when she was in similar need.

In the 2011 election, Bennett again stood for the Waitakere seat, and secured an election night majority of 349 votes. After the routine counting of special votes 10 days later, the result had swung towards Labour candidate Carmel Sepuloni. Bennett was subsequently declared the winner after a judicial recount. Carmel Sepuloni was not placed high enough on Labour's list to remain an MP and was ousted from Parliament as a result of her loss.

The 2013/14 electoral boundary review saw Bennett's Waitakere electorate abolished in favour of two new electorates in western Auckland, Kelston and Upper Harbour. At the 2014 election, Bennett stood for the Upper Harbour seat and won with a majority of 9,692 votes.

National won a third term of government in 2014. Prime Minister John Key suggested prior to the announcement of the new Cabinet that Bennett would leave the social development portfolio and instead be given a financial or economic role. Bennett was eventually announced as the highest-ranking female Cabinet minister, holding the State Services, Social Housing, and Local Government portfolios. She was also Associate Minister of Finance and Associate Minister of Tourism. From December 2015, she became Minister for Climate Change Issues.

John Key resigned the leadership of the National Party in December 2016. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by Bill English. Bennett was appointed National's deputy leader and sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister on 12 December 2016. She held this role, as well as the State Services, Women, Tourism, Police and Climate Change Issues Cabinet portfolios, for the remainder of the term of government.

During the 2017 election, Bennett contested the Upper Harbour seat for a second time and was re-elected with a majority of 9,556 votes.

Sixth Labour Government, 2017–2020

National did not have sufficient parliamentary support to continue in government after the 2017 election. Bennett continued as National's deputy leader under Simon Bridges after Bill English retired in 2018 and was the party's spokesperson for social investment and social services, women and drug reform. Bennett has argued that the government's drug reform policy needs to consider health, education, and justice.

In mid-August 2019, Bennett announced her intention not to contest Upper Harbour in 2020 and run as a list-only candidate. She was also named as National's 2020 election campaign manager.

While Parliament was adjourned in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bennett was a member of the Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considers the government's response to the pandemic.

Following a Newshub-Reid research poll released on 18 May 2020 which returned a low approval rating for the National Party and its leader Simon Bridges, Bennett as deputy leader was challenged by Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye. Bridges' leadership of National was contested by Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller. A leadership vote was held during an emergency National Party caucus on 22 May, in which Bridges and Bennett were defeated by Muller and Kaye, who assumed the positions of leader and deputy leaders of the party.

Bennett was subsequently ranked at 13 in Muller's Shadow Cabinet, and on 29 June she announced that she would retire from politics at the general election in September. On 2 July, Bennett's former Women and Drug Reform portfolios were assumed by Nikki Kaye and Amy Adams respectively.

Post-political career

On 19 October 2020, after the general election, Bennett joined Bayleys Real Estate as Director - Strategic Advisory. In 2021 she was asked to host the TVNZ revival of British game show Give Us a Clue.

In 2024, Associate Minister of Health David Seymour appointed Bennett as chair of Pharmac.

Personal life

Bennett married Alan Philps in 2012. Philps keeps a low public profile and was mentioned by Bennett in October 2016. Philps did not appear in photographs from Bennett's swearing-in ceremony at Government House, Wellington, on 12 December 2016, but her daughter, granddaughter and stepdaughter did. After her announced retirement at the New Zealand 2020 general election, Bennett says she plans to venture into the business world.

In late 2017 Bennett announced she had undergone gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. In November 2018 she stated she had lost 50 kilograms (110 lb) over the previous year.