An embattled Dunedin city councillor has been asked to resign, stripped of roles and taken a pay cut after an independent investigation found he committed a “very serious” breach of the council’s code of conduct.
Councillors voted overwhelmingly to censure Benedict Ong following a recent code of conduct complaint – the latest in a string of controversies for Ong.
The complaint stemmed from an email he sent raising concerns about a council staff member, which was also copied to members of the media.
An independent investigator found Ong’s actions amounted to a material breach of the code, describing the conduct as “very serious” and inconsistent with expectations placed on elected members.
At a council meeting on Wednesday, councillors voted 10 to one to accept the findings of the investigation and impose sanctions.
Ong was given 30 minutes to address the council regarding the report, using this time to read a passage from the novel The Trial by Franz Kafka, a scene concerning the execution of the central character following a trial, subsequently comparing the meeting to a “trial” of his own.
Mayor Sophie Barker said, in her view, Ong did not address the contents of the report, and requested that the council invite Ong to consider resigning from the council.
She said she was “horrified” by the contents of the report.
“My view is the council needs to give a strong message that it considers councillor Ong’s behaviour to be completely unacceptable and takes the strongest measure that it can to invite councillor Ong to consider resigning,” she said.
“I contemplated the other options for penalties we have from the code of conduct and I’m disappointed that we can give only one, as personally, I feel no confidence in the member.”
The motion to censure Ong was accepted, with councillors Russell Lund and Lee Vandervis voting against – Vandervis citing the costs of a byelection, and Lund considering it was up to voters to express “buyer’s remorse”.
The motion to censure Ong was put forward in two chunks.
In the first, Barker asked that the council note Ong’s removal as the Portfolio Deputy Technology and approve his removal from the roles of Council Representative on the Otago Settlers Association and the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum board, with Cr John Chambers being selected as Council Representative for the Otago Settlers Association and the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum board.
These motions were accepted almost unanimously, with Ong the sole outlier.
Mayor Barker also asked that the council note that responsibility for the Portfolio Deputy Technology will be reconsidered following the completion of the byelection.
With Ong’s removal from these roles, Barker asked the council to approve an annual remuneration of $100,577 for councillors, approve annual remuneration of $84,496 for councillors with no additional responsibilities, noting the updated remuneration proposal reflects changes to Ong’s responsibilities.
The updated remuneration proposal would be resubmitted to the Remuneration Authority for approval.
These motions were accepted 10 to three.
Barker also asked that Ong step back from civil duties in which he represented the council.
“I do not have confidence that councillor Ong can behave appropriately as a representative of a council that I lead,” she said.
Addressing the council, Ong thanked the councillors who voted against the motions, and claimed the “allegations” against him were “false.”
Speaking to media, Ong said he would not consider resigning.
“Very simply, I have been elected. I am a contractor for the next 2.5 years to serve at the pleasure of our community, and that is what our community wants,” he said.
He said he believed he should be apologised to “for all those false allegations from the time that I have been elected”.
The independent investigation found Ong failed to follow established processes by not raising concerns internally first and by publicly criticising a staff member.
Copying journalists into the correspondence was also identified as a significant escalation that risked undermining the council’s obligations as a good employer.
The complaint was initiated by the council’s chief executive following the email.
Ong’s short tenure as a city councillor has been beset with a series of controversies, including a recent dispute over temporary restrictions placed on his access to the council’s Civic Centre while a health and safety assessment was carried out.
Ong previously described those measures as retaliatory, while chief executive Sandy Graham said they were a standard workplace response to concerns raised about his interactions with staff and were linked to the same conduct investigation.
Ong was recently escorted from a council meeting after arriving with tape over his mouth, after being handed a letter from Barker outlining concerns about his conduct.
In that letter, Barker said Ong had been “extremely disrespectful” and had refused to remove disparaging online comments about the council’s chief executive.
He was subsequently barred from some informal meetings, stripped of his deputy technology portfolio role, and warned his privileges would depend on adhering to the code of conduct.
Separately, Ong recently nominated himself for a position on the board of NZME, the media company that owns the New Zealand Herald, citing his banking background and interest in governance.
However, the company’s board indicated it did not have sufficient information to assess his suitability and signalled its current composition was appropriate.
Ong was elected in 2025 after a high-profile grassroots campaign centred on economic development and rates restraint, having returned to Dunedin only months before the election following a career in international banking.
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.