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Controversial Dunedin councillor Benedict Ong has denied harassing students as he faces a trespass notice over allegations of “inappropriate and unwanted behaviours”.
He also indicated he wanted to use the Official Information Act to learn the identity of his accusers.
“Let’s see if I can find out who are these specific malicious individuals that are spreading these falsehoods against me,” Cr Ong told the Otago Daily Times.
His comment came after the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) said it planned to trespass Cr Ong from all of its premises following several complaints from students.
The association called for the university to follow suit.
“While the university campus and OUSA premises are open to the public, we believe all reasonable steps should be taken to ensure students feel safe on campus,” OUSA president Daniel Leamy said.
Students had alleged inappropriate and unwanted behaviours, he said.
“We encourage any students who have experienced harassment to seek support, including through the OUSA Student Support Centre.”
Cr Ong emailed the university asking for “any allegations, complaints, evidence, or supporting information” provided by OUSA and “university records discussing or assessing those allegations, including any steps taken to verify their accuracy”.
Cr Ong has had a series of controversies since he was elected to the Dunedin City Council last year.
In March this year, his colleagues asked him to consider resigning after he breached the council’s code of conduct over an email he had sent about a staff member.
The investigator who looked into the case, Steph Dyhrberg, found it “more likely than not” Cr Ong acted in retaliation against the staff member, who was a witness in a separate code of conduct case.
Cr Ong refused to resign.
The request for a trespass notice was first reported by University of Otago student magazine Critic Te Ārohi.
Mr Leamy said people who complained had asked to remain anonymous.
“It was several complaints and I’ve come to OUSA with them and we’ve taken them forward to the university.
“The whole reason behind this was about student safety.”
A university spokesperson declined to comment in any detail.
“We are currently in discussions with OUSA on this matter and are not in a position to comment further at this time.”
Cr Ong’s Facebook feed shows at least 28 university-related posts between October 2025 and this week, including images of him with students on campus at night, skateboarding and a video of him at a student flat party.
In one comment, he encouraged men to come to the city to find women and “see the natural beauties of Dunedin that you might be inclined to further stay and pursue”.
Cr Ong said the university was a sentimental place for him.
“I am not allowed to go to the place that is the reason why I am literally able to physically stand here alive and be able to serve our city as well?”
Cr Ong had previously said his parents met at the university, they married and he was born in Dunedin.
He said on Wednesday he might need to seek a refund of his Unipol gym membership.
Asked if he accepted his behaviour was out of line, Cr Ong said this was “just another malicious falsehood and slander against me”.
“A lot of our students are going to be up in arms about this falsehood,” he said.
“They know me, they want to take photos with me — I’m not asking ‘hey, would you like to pose [for] a photo with me?’ — no, they’re asking to take photos with me.”
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Cr Ong described the trespass action as “another politically motivated false attack against me because of the support I have across our community”.
Cr Ong has previously had restrictions placed upon his access to the Civic Centre following reports he had been “accosting staff”.
He denied the allegations.
“The amount of places in the greatest city in our country I’m being falsely banned from is widely expanding and I’m very concerned now that the only place in time to come I can legally step out into is my backyard,” he said.
Cr Ong was asked to leave two public events in July — one of them a student protest — and was ejected from two council meetings last month.