Benjamin Doyle

This article is about the politician from New Zealand. For other uses, see Ben Doyle.

Benjamin Cody Doyle (born 1991 or 1992) is a former New Zealand politician. The first non-binary Member of Parliament in New Zealand, Doyle was a Green Party list MP from 2024 to 2025.

Benjamin Doyle
Doyle in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green party list
In office 22 October 2024 (2024-10-22) – 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 32–33)
Political party	Green
Children	1

Early and personal life

Doyle was born in 1991 or 1992,^[2] and grew up in Whangaparāoa.^[3] They are of Ngāpuhi, Scottish, and Irish descent. They 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

New Zealand Parliament

Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
2024–2025	54th	List	18		Green

2023 general election

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

Following the removal of Darleen Tana as a List MP in October 2024, Doyle was declared elected on 22 October 2024.^[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 is the first non-binary member of New Zealand's parliament.^[4] In their first term, they are 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] Doyle 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.^[17] Their resignation took effect at 11:59 p.m. on 3 October.^[18]

On 10 October, Police charged a 19-year old man with making death threats against Doyle via a social media platform.^[19]

Footnotes

1. Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Tana was removed during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded Doyle.
2. Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Doyle resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Davidson.