WELLINGTON – New Zealand’s ruling Labour Party has lost a third minister in the space of three months, weakening its claim to be a safe pair of hands ahead of a general election in October.
Senior Cabinet minister Michael Wood has resigned his portfolios after the discovery of conflicts of interest, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Wednesday in Wellington.
Mr Wood, who was stood down as transport minister earlier in June after disclosing he owned shares in Auckland International Airport, also holds shares in other companies, Mr Hipkins said.
“When I stood Michael down as transport minister, I asked him if there was any other relevant information I should know about and he indicated there was not,” Mr Hipkins added.
It had since become evident that the airport shares were not an isolated incident, “and it is not appropriate for Michael to continue as a minister”, he said.
Mr Wood’s demotion follows the demise of Mr Stuart Nash, who was removed as a minister in March after it was revealed he disclosed confidential Cabinet decisions to donors.
In May, Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri quit Labour to join the tiny Maori Party.
Labour is currently neck and neck with the main opposition National Party in opinion polls, with the election to be held on Oct 14.
Mr Hipkins said he was alerted on Tuesday to Mr Wood’s additional shareholdings, held in a family trust, of which he is both a trustee and a beneficiary.
“These new shareholdings raise significant concerns around Michael not identifying and managing potential and real conflicts of interest,” he added.
In particular, the trust holds shares in telecommunications companies Chorus and Spark.
As minister of immigration, Mr Wood made the decision to include telecommunications technicians on the immigration green list. This followed representations from the telecommunications industry, including Chorus, seeking those changes, Mr Hipkins said.
Mr Wood also has a shareholding in National Australia Bank, the parent company of the Bank of New Zealand.
“That was not disclosed in any of the conversations Cabinet had around a market study into banking or other relevant Cabinet conversations,” Mr Hipkins said.
Mr Wood said the shareholdings dated to before he became a trustee and he had paid limited attention to them.
“There has not been a second of my political career where any of my financial interests have influenced my actions or even crossed my mind,” he said in a statement.
“That being said, I acknowledge the rules are in place for a reason, and it is incumbent on ministers to manage not just the reality, but also the perception of any conflicts. I have not managed this effectively.” BLOOMBERG
