Michael Wood resignation: Opposition crows as minister falls over revelations of more shareholdings

Former Labour minister Michael Wood. Photo / Mark Mitchell

National leader Christopher Luxon has hit out at Prime Minister Chris Hipkins for once again being let down by a senior minister who had been given a second chance.

Michael Wood resigned today after it emerged he had multiple shareholdings in a trust that he had not adequately disclosed, and which put him in a conflicted position. There is no evidence Wood acted inappropriately, given the conflict.

Wood held further shares in Chorus, Spark and the National Australia Bank. He become the third minister lost since Hipkins took office earlier this year.

News of further shareholdings comes after the Herald first revealed Wood did not declare a stake in Auckland Airport which saw him initially stood down by Hipkins as Transport Minister.

“The wheels are falling off the bus. This is a Government that is actually falling apart,” Luxon said.

“Here we go again, having another integrity issue, another personnel issue, rather than the thing Kiwis care about.”

He drew a comparison to the Stuart Nash scandal in which Nash was given multiple warnings before being sacked.

Luxon said Wood should have been sacked “on day one”.

“The bottom line is Chris Hipkins is weak, he hasn’t managed his team and he hasn’t managed his culture inside of it,” Luxon said.

“Stuart Nash, Kiri Allan, Jan Tinetti, Michael Wood - it goes on and on and on and it just doesn’t stop.”

Luxon said the Government had stopped working and that he was ready for a snap election, should Hipkins decide to go straight to the polls.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins arriving at the Beehive theatrette to announce the resignation of Cabinet Minister Michael Wood today. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wood has left Wellington for Auckland today.

“I will now be taking some personal time before returning to my work as MP for Mt Roskill, and will not be making any further statement in the meantime,” Wood said.

Hipkins indicated there may possibly be a way back for Wood into Cabinet after the election.

Labour MPs were sad and shocked that an otherwise well-regarded and competent minister could be so careless with his paperwork.

David Parker, who has inherited the Transport portfolio from Wood, said: “None of us takes pleasure in this circumstance.”

Act Party leader David Seymour joked Wood’s shareholdings qualified him for a career as a stockbroker.

“Wood might just be the last capitalist the Labour Party had. There’s nothing wrong with investing to grow wealth, but there is something wrong with remaining invested in areas that you have direct influence over as a Cabinet Minister.

“He might just find that this is a blessing in disguise for him and that he has a more lucrative career as a stockbroker ahead of him,” Seymour said.

Seymour said Labour was beset by ministerial scandal.

“Labour is showing over and over again that it is not cut out for governing. Stuart Nash, Michael Wood, Kiri Allan and Meka Whaitiri have all resigned, been stood down, or been sacked in recent months. Labour’s ministers just aren’t up to their jobs,” he said - incorrectly, as while Allan has been in trouble in recent months, she has not resigned, been stood down, or sacked.

Wood’s failure to manage the conflicts of interest was “beyond frustrating”, Hipkins said.

Wood discovered the shareholdings while preparing his response to the inquiry currently being carried out by the Registrar of Pecuniary Interests Maarten Wevers.

That inquiry is accountable to Parliament rather than ministers, so it will continue despite Wood’s resignation. It is possible, even likely, that Wevers will decide Wood’s incomplete declarations raise a matter of privilege. In that case, Wood would be referred to the Speaker and on to the Privileges Committee.