Prime Minister Chris Hipkins made the revelation facing questions from National’s acting leader Nicola Willis in the House today. On Tuesday, Hipkins told media Wood had been warned “half a dozen” times.
The Government faced questions in the House from National and Act over its handling of the Michael Wood saga.
Hipkins told Parliament: “On the 19th of November, 2020; 9th and 14th of December, 2020; 24th of March, 2021; 30 June, 2021; 17 December, 2021; 1st of March, 2022; 28th of March, 2022; 4th of May, 2022; 16th of January 2023; 6th of March, 2023 and 27th of March, 2023, the Cabinet Office sought to confirm whether [Michael Wood] had divested the shareholding. Throughout the process [Wood] confirmed that he was about to or in the process of divesting the shareholdings,”
“By my count, there were 12 interactions [where the Cabinet Office asked Wood to divest the shares],” Hipkins said.
“As I indicated yesterday, I think [Wood] should have divested the shares when he first said he was going to.”
Responding to a question from Willis about why Wood remained in Cabinet, Hipkins said: “I have indicated I don’t think Minister Wood has met the relevant expectations and that is why he has been stood down as Minister of Transport.
Asked by Willis if he would launch an investigation into Wood’s actions, Hipkins replied; “I don’t believe there is a need to have an investigation on that matter because the facts are clear and they are not contested.”
Hipkins told Parliament that he was "somewhat frustrated" that he was not told about Wood’s shareholding earlier.
Both National and Act are calling for Wood to go. National leader Christopher Luxon wants Wood sacked from his remaining portfolios and removed from Cabinet.
After further revelations, published in The New Zealand Herald this morning, Act leader David Seymour has also called for Wood to go.
Wood was suspended as a minister on Tuesday for his handling of shares owned in Auckland Airport.
The value of the shares amounted to just $13,000, but it was Wood’s decision to tell the Cabinet Office he would sell the shares but never actually getting around to doing it that has landed him in hot water.
“One of the challenges is that the Cabinet Office had been advised by [Wood] on a number of occasions that he has divested himself of the shares, that clearly hasn’t happened. That is quite a material issue,” Hipkins said.
Wood has been stood down while he works through disclosing the shares appropriately and finally sells them.
He has a path back to Cabinet once he has worked through the register of pecuniary interests to properly disclose his ownership of the shares in the past.
Luxon told TVNZ’s Breakfast the Wood issue was a case of “another week, another ministerial scandal within the Labour Government, another week where we’re talking about why people don’t feel safe in their homes, why our kids aren’t at school and about the cost of living”.
He said it was “a massive distraction at a time when New Zealanders really want the Government focused on things that matter to them”.
Luxon called Hipkins’ leadership “weak” and said the party’s “wheels are falling off”.
Seymour said news Wood was involved in declining the application of North Shore Airport’s airport authority status meant he could no longer continue as a minister.
“The question of Wood being a Minister is no longer a matter of ‘life admin’ as Chris Hipkins has put it. It is now a matter of whether people can trust the New Zealand Government to be open and transparent about who it serves,” he said.
