Benton Legal (@BentonLegal) profile picture

Benton Legal

@BentonLegal

Barrister and solicitor. Specialist abuse redress lawyer and Legal Aid provider.

 Wellington, New Zealand
Joined August 2025
  • Tweets120
  • Following24
  • Followers14
1Media
Photo by Benton Legal (@BentonLegal)
Survivors and communities came together to call for the establishment of the Royal Commission. Now, it is time for all of us to stand together and call on the government to implement its recommendations. That is the responsible, sensible thing for them to do. #Honourthepromise
Image from Benton Legal (@BentonLegal)
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rnz.co.nz/news/education/238…
Hato Pāora College hostel closes after damning Education Review Office report

Hato Pāora College hostel closes after damning Education Review Office report

A Manawatū school hostel's licence to operate has been suspended by education authorities, because "it is contrary to the boarders' interests for the hostel to remain open".

rnz.co.nz
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newsroom.co.nz/2026/11/06/pm… PM and police minister face repeated questions over historic paedophile ring. Allegations raised before a royal commission that a potential child abuse ring from decades ago involved prominent politicians are refusing to go away.
PM and police minister face repeated questions over historic paedophile ring

PM and police minister face repeated questions over historic paedophile ring

Allegations raised before a royal commission that a potential child abuse ring from decades ago involved prominent politicians are refusing to go away

newsroom.co.nz
nzherald.co.nz/nz/presbyteri…
Church urges victims of child-abusing minister to come forward

Church urges victims of child-abusing minister to come forward

The church is currently working with three victims of David Pimm’s historic abuse.

nzherald.co.nz
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nzherald.co.nz/nz/state-abus…
‘Hollow promises’: State abuse survivor told by ministry he may die before redress

‘Hollow promises’: State abuse survivor told by ministry he may die before redress

King's Service Medal recipient fears many survivors will die without justice and closure.

nzherald.co.nz
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rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-jus…
Sexual abuse survivor feels unable to move on as quest for compensation and apology stalls

Sexual abuse survivor feels unable to move on as quest for compensation and apology stalls

Warning: This story is about sexual abuse

rnz.co.nz
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rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-jus…
Parallels between Royal Commission findings and Teaching Council failures, abuse survivor says

Parallels between Royal Commission findings and Teaching Council failures, abuse survivor says

An advocate for survivors abused in state care says there are clear parallels between the failures identified by the 2024 Royal Commission of Inquiry report and the case of sex offender Timothy...

rnz.co.nz
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rnz.co.nz/news/science-and-t…
Radar shines light on unmarked graves of asylum patients

Radar shines light on unmarked graves of asylum patients

A special radar is aiding the search for the unmarked graves of patients who died in care in mental asylums near Dunedin.

rnz.co.nz
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rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-jus…
Children's advocate slams police delay after alleged abuse continued

Children's advocate slams police delay after alleged abuse continued

A children's advocate says she's "utterly appalled" by revelations that children were allegedly sexually and physically abused after initially going to police with complaints of abuse.

rnz.co.nz
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stoppress.co.nz/campaigns/di…
Disabled survivors of abuse in care shape creative platform in response to inquiry - stoppress.co.nz

Disabled survivors of abuse in care shape creative platform in response to inquiry - stoppress.co.nz

Disability Support Services has partnered with All is for All on a creative platform inspired by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission.

stoppress.co.nz
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Abuse in Care: Labour not yet certain on design, cost of independent redress as National continues ‘fiscal hole’ claims , via @nzherald nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/a…
Labour not yet certain on design, cost of Abuse in Care redress scheme

Labour not yet certain on design, cost of Abuse in Care redress scheme

National has questioned the costings of Labour's independent scheme for survivors.

nzherald.co.nz
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thepost.co.nz/nz-news/361084…
Never lose your humanity, never forget, never give in – a tribute to Kevin Banks

Never lose your humanity, never forget, never give in – a tribute to Kevin Banks

In my mind’s eye, the image I have of Kevin Raymond Banks (’Kev’ to me) is him in his lounge, seated next to his drum kit.

thepost.co.nz
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kaitiaki.org.nz/article/over… ‘Overwhelming sense of betrayal’ — abuse survivors’ fight continues. Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
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Benton Legal retweeted
Cooper Legal (@CooperLegal) profile picture
Cooper Legal@CooperLegalSep 25
At Cooper Legal, we see the human impact of policies that prioritise enforcement over support. If someone is told to "move on", where exactly are they expected to go? Marginalised people deserve better than to be hidden from public view. stuff.co.nz/politics/3610377…
Why solve homelessness when you can criminalise its symptoms?

Why solve homelessness when you can criminalise its symptoms?

The idea that homeless people would be required to ‘move on’ always invited the question – never satisfactorily answered – move on to where?

stuff.co.nz
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Benton Legal retweeted
Cooper Legal (@CooperLegal) profile picture
Cooper Legal@CooperLegalSep 30
Friendly reminder as we enter October: if you haven't already, make sure you're enrolled to vote before 25 October so your voice can be heard in the 2026 General Election. vote.nz/2026-general-electio…

Enrol by 25 October

To vote in the 2026 General Election, you need to be enrolled.

vote.nz
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Benton Legal retweeted
Cooper Legal (@CooperLegal) profile picture
Cooper Legal@CooperLegalOct 6
The Chief Ombudsman John Allen will looking into "... various practices, including whether the [Ministry of Education]'s curriculum centre staff have either deliberately failed to make records or have been told not to do so". rnz.co.nz/news/education/170…
Whistleblowers offer to aid Education Ministry probe

Whistleblowers offer to aid Education Ministry probe

Education Ministry whistleblowers, who contacted RNZ in the past week, plan to add their voices to an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman.

rnz.co.nz
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uhconnection.co.nz/general-n… More charges laid against former child psychologist Ricki Tan, police appealing to other victims to come forward. Late 1980s - early 2000s.
Additional charges laid against former child psychologist; Police seek further victims

Additional charges laid against former child psychologist; Police seek further victims

New Zealand Police Attribute to Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Baillie: Police have laid additional charges against a former child psychologist, currently on bail for alleged historic sexual offen…

uhconnection.co.nz
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rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-jus… Concerning. He now works at the the Youth Development Unit, based at Whenuapai Air Force Base - is that connected to the new Govt Bootcamps, or separate?
Psychologist who worked with OT, Youth Court charged with sexual offences against young men

Psychologist who worked with OT, Youth Court charged with sexual offences against young men

A psychologist with "significant involvement" with young men, referred by agencies including Oranga Tamariki and the Youth Court, is at the centre of a police investigation into alleged historical...

rnz.co.nz
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Young person taken to hospital after attack at youth justice facility rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-jus…
Young person taken to hospital after attack at youth justice facility

Young person taken to hospital after attack at youth justice facility

A young person was beaten up by seven others in an attack at a youth justice facility last month.

rnz.co.nz
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Officials crack on behind closed doors to limit the OIA, under cover of election newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/28/of…
Officials crack on behind closed doors to limit the OIA, under cover of election

Officials crack on behind closed doors to limit the OIA, under cover of election

Andrew Ecclestone and Russell Opland argue the managerialism of processing official information requests is shielding the heart of the matter: reducing our right to participate in making policies,...

newsroom.co.nz
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Ministers to face 'please explain' over use of urgency -Parliament has sat under urgency for longer in this term than at any time in at least two decades. newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/25/mi…
Ministers to face 'please explain' over use of urgency after Govt smashes records

Ministers to face 'please explain' over use of urgency after Govt smashes records

Future governments will have to provide a justification for skipping select committees, but Labour and the Greens say that doesn't go far enough.

newsroom.co.nz
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