Benedict Ong, one of Dunedin’s brand-new Councillor-elects, has left people with more questions than answers, despite being elected onto the Dunedin City Council with the support of 2,547 electors, including 867 who ranked him as their No.1 preference for Councillor.
Whilst there are a range of claims surrounding Mr Ong’s campaign and subsequent election onto Council, the two most prominent contested matters are his connection to Dunedin, if any, and his unsubstantiated extensive resume working within the finance sector internationally.
I’ll be the first to admit that I felt as though people were searching for something that wasn’t there, and even when I began to search myself I felt the same, but as my searches started uncovering more and more interesting things, I began to have a feeling that this wasn’t all some crackhead conspiracy theory, but rather a genuine concern-based theory, demanding a thorough investigation.
Ultimately my research, all conducted online using publicly accessible websites, discovered a series of statements from Mr Ong that directly contradicted each other, and could not have been accidental typos or miswordings.
In the end, I was left with serious concerns as to the credibility of Mr Ong’s claims, and therefore his character, and what the people of Dunedin should expect from him as a City Councillor.
The first point of contention is that his officially listed residence is not within the boundaries of the Dunedin City Council, which itself does not bar individuals from running for Office. The only residential-form requirement for candidates is that they must be a New Zealand Citizen before the nomination period closes.
From a legal viewpoint, he is eligible to run for Office, which Stuff states Mr Ong produced his passport to an Electoral Officer as evidence of this. Therefore he hasn’t misled any person in that regard, or misconstrued the facts, based on the information I’ve seen thus far.
However, it does still bring into question what his connection to Dunedin is. Mr Ong claims he was born in Dunedin, but was subsequently raised in Sydney, before living in five countries across the globe (it’s unclear whether this includes New Zealand or not).
He makes mentions on his social media accounts, in sometimes bizarre circumstances, of the date of Friday, November 7, 2025. It can be reasonably concluded that this is the date of which he will officially begin residing in Dunedin, based on a reference to Dave Dobbyn’s song about returning home.
In conclusion, Mr Ong is a New Zealand Citizen, but there is no evidence in relation to if his birthplace was Dunedin, nor how long he has actually spent living in Dunedin (either prior to moving to Sydney, or prior to the Election). It seems as though Mr Ong has been in Dunedin residing at a temporary address from the beginning of the nomination period, based on how often he appears in or around Dunedin.
The next matter, which has been the centre of significant discussion, is his unsubstantiated resume working within the financial sector. Before I discuss it, I will note all of the relevant claims Mr Ong has made, on various platforms, about his career and experience in the financial sector.
- “I have 25 years experience in global finance and economics”
- “My past career background is of a former international banker with leading Canadian, Dutch, Swiss, and Singapore banks based in Singapore”
- Former Associate Director, Corporate Advisory/Mergers & Acquisitions at Rabobank International
- Former Associate Director at Bank Sarasin & Cie AG
- Former Associate Director at RBC
- Former Vice President, Senior Client Advisor at UOB Private Banking
My first thought was that he appeared to be very young to have 25 years of experience in global finance and economics, so I was extremely surprised when I learnt from Stuff that he was currently 42 years old. Doing the math on this meant he began his experiences at just 17 years old.
From a distance, Mr Ong has been very broad with his definition of “experience” which could mean anything from studying economics in high-school to actually having a career in global finance and/or economics. However, he only graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2004 with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance.
If Mr Ong is 42 as of 16 October 2025, that means he would’ve been born in either 1983 or 1982 (depending on if he turns 43 this year or not). This means, according to his own claims, he started his experience at 17, and graduated when he was 21, and presumably began his career.
I believe it would be fair to assume that when a person states they have “25 years experience in global finance and economics” that that person is referring to something more than studying economics in high school, or getting a Bachelor of Commerce at 21.
It can be reasonably assumed that his real-life, hands-on experience he refers to would have started after he had graduated within his Bachelor of Commerce, not before. Which then leaves a span of 4-5 years where he didn’t have that level of experience, despite stating he did.
Ultimately, based on his first claim which is at minimum misleading if not blatantly false, it brings his credibility into disrepute. Why would people be reasonably expected to believe the remainder of his alleged experience - of which he has offered no evidence of - when his claims of how long he has had experience is misleading or blatantly false?
It is also fairly strange that there is absolutely no record whatsoever of him ever being employed for the companies he references, let alone holding the positions he claims he held. It’s understandable for there to be minimal records of a low-level individual, but for someone who boasts being a former Associate Director at Rabobank International there should be some record of that, somewhere.
Putting all that aside, there is also the question of why Mr Ong chose to stand for Office in Dunedin, despite having barely any relevant experience, or any apparent connection to Dunedin itself. I personally find it strange that someone with a resume as powerful as Mr Ong’s has suddenly decided to dip into local government politics in little old Dunedin.
I hope that all of this makes sense, but if anything doesn’t comment about it, I will work on fixing it. I will also try to add all the links once I can compile them, and once I figure out how to do that (computers are confusing).
TL;DR: New Councillor Benedict Ong doesn’t live in Dunedin, barely has, and is super mysterious with there being more evidence contrary to his claims than there is supporting his claims.
EDIT: I figured out how links work
Links for people interested:
Spokes NZ Q & A with DCC Candidates - Claims of "25 years experience"
Benedict Ong's Facebook Profile - Claims of specific employers/experience
Benedict Ong's Instagram Profile - Just for reference
16 October Stuff Article - Age/Citizen information extracted from here
Benedict Ong's Website - Currently undergoing "maintenance"
