If MPs resigned every time they did something just to protect their political careers, then we’d probably have no one left in Parliament. But some cases are different - and that's what we have on our hands today.

Brand new National MP Sam Uffindell is in the firing line not just for giving a 3rd former a hiding when he was a boarder at King’s College in Auckland 23 years ago, and being kicked out of the school because of it.

He’s also being criticised for apologising to the victim last year, nine months before he stood for the National Party and winning the Tauranga by-election - and not telling voters about it.

And, as far as I’m concerned, that’s the bit that sticks.

He’s the guy, by the way, who insinuated in his maiden speech in Parliament last week that New Zealand has gone soft.

All the talking he’s been doing since the story came out yesterday about him “reaching out” to his victim and his “atonement” - that all rings about as true as his answer to a question during the by-election campaign about what he thought his biggest regret or mistake in life had been.

This was in a Bay of Plenty Times Q&A article all the candidates took part in. The ACT candidate said drink-driving as a teenager was his biggest regret. Uffindell said his was not coming back home to New Zealand sooner.

Pull the other one mate.

Today, though, he’s saying that taking part in the beating was “one of the dumbest and stupidest things I’ve ever done”.

Which still doesn’t sound like regret, does it? Dumb and stupid?

Do you think his victim thinks the whole thing was “dumb and stupid”? Of course not…I think words like “terrifying”, “totally unjustified”, “repulsive” are more accurate than “dumb and stupid”.

As we know, Uffindell came back to New Zealand with his family after working overseas and - according to what I heard him say to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB this morning - it was at that point that he decided he wanted to get in touch with the guy he beat-up in the boarding house at school to apologise.

He says it had been weighing on him and he wanted to do the right thing.

It seems the apology was accepted - but then when the guy who was the victim of the beating saw on the news that Uffindell was standing in the Tauranga by-election, he was gobsmacked.

“I felt sick.” They’re his exact words.

It seems the National Party knew about the incident - and that Uffindell had been kicked out of school because of it - when it selected him to be its candidate in Tauranga.

For some reason, though, the party didn’t share that information publicly. Nor did Uffindell.

Although, apparently, he had been expecting it to come out at some point during the by-election campaign. I think it would be more accurate to say he was hoping it wouldn’t come out during the campaign, don’t you?

The thing is, you ask anyone who’s been to any boarding school anywhere in New Zealand they’ll tell you stories of violence just like the one we’ve heard about Uffindell and his mates giving that 3rd form kid a hiding in the dorm at King’s College back in ‘99.

That doesn’t make it any more acceptable - but it’s not unique. And it’s probably still happening in some places.

These days, though, you’d like to think that schools are doing a bit more to stop it. I know at King’s College, at least, the 3rd form or Year 9 boarders have their own boarding house these days. So incidents like the dorm raid Uffindell and his mates were involved in are less likely to happen.

But what has struck me about this, is this happened 23 years ago when schools were nowhere near as proactive in dealing with bullying and violence. There was still a “grin and bear it” attitude back in 1999.

Nevertheless, King’s College obviously thought that whatever Uffindell did was bad enough for him to be kicked out of school the very next day.

There was no stand-down. No cooling off period. He was called to a meeting with his parents and the principal and the house master and given his marching orders.

The very next day.

And when I heard Uffindell himself explain to Newstalk ZB what he and his mates did to that kid, it sounded absolutely appalling. And obviously the school thought so too.

But, despite all that, I can look at this as a parent and know that what a person does when they are 16 shouldn’t be a ball and chain they have to carry for the rest of their lives.

However, I am more judgemental of someone nearing their 40s - particularly someone who wants to be an MP and wants their community to put their trust in them.

And, on the basis of Uffindell not being up front with the public and only talking about his part in this appalling act of violence after it’s been reported in the media, tells me that he is not the type of person I want as an MP.

That's why I think he should resign.