[4][5][6] In November 2005, the Parliamentary Privileges Committee recommended his suspension for ninety days for "making the Speaker's chair an item of public ridicule" the previous year.
[7] In April 2006, he was suspended from office pending a leadership tribunal into separate misconduct charges relating to financial statements and acquittals.
[14][15][16] On 1 November, having obtained a commitment to AU$8 million in Australian aid, he declared that "Manusians as a whole welcomed the asylum seeker facility", citing opportunities for local residents and businesses.
An Australian newspaper reported local accusations that Benjamin was "running scared" by "trying to balance the interests of [Prime Minister O'Neill] and the Manus community".
[19] In the same month, he lashed the Australian government over its political instability and demanded a new deal of up to AU$120 million to upgrade local infrastructure.
[23] Benjamin continued to support the processing centre due to the jobs associated with the project, and in August 2014 claimed that residents "wanted it to stay" in the face of media reports that it might close.
[24] However, in October he was reported to have temporarily ordered that construction on new facilities cease in support of his demand that Australia renegotiate their assistance package with the provincial government.