Heather du Plessis-Allan: Michael Wood cannot come back from this

Author: Heather du Plessis-Allan,
Publish Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2023, 4:51PM

The scales have just tipped for Michael Wood, haven’t they?

He cannot come back from this, his time as Transport Minister has got to be over.

We've just learned in the last two hours that the Cabinet Office didn’t ask Michael Wood half a dozen times whether he’d sold his shares yet.

It was a dozen times. That’s right, 12 times.

19 November 2020, 9 December 2020, 14 December 2020, 24 March 2021, 13 June 2021, 17 December 2021, 1 March 2022, 28 March 2022, 4 May 2022, 16 January 2023, 6 March 2023, and 27 March 2023.

You'll have spotted it. The most recent correspondence was only 10 weeks ago. And still, despite 12 phone calls or emails, he didn’t sell the shares.

Now Michael Wood is not stupid. He makes bad transport decisions because his priorities are bicycles not potholes, but he’s not stupid. He's one of Labour’s most able ministers, so you can rule out incompetence.

So if this isn’t incompetence, what is it?

Well, I don’t think it’s malicious, because $13K isn’t worth risking a $300K salary for. So the only conclusion I can come to is- it’s arrogance.

Michael Wood knew the rules. Cabinet Office reminded him of the rules- 12 times.

But he didn’t deal with it. Either because he was arrogant enough to think he knew better, or arrogant enough to think the rules weren’t meant for him.

Yesterday, I thought he could come back from this, but not anymore.

Not now that we know that his wife did the same thing with Auckland Council. Didn’t declare the shares or the trust, even ahead of a vote tomorrow on selling the shares.

And not now that we know he was reminded 12 times,

Michael Wood is gone. It’s just a matter of waiting for Chris Hipkins to realise this.

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