Thomas Coughlan: Transport Minister Michael Wood on thin ice, but safe for now

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Michael Wood has been stood down as Transport Minister. Photo / Mark Mitchell

OPINION

Thirteen-thousand dollars worth of shares is no great sin as far as ministerial transgressions go.

Transport Minister Michael Wood's failure to properly disclose or quickly sell his shares in Auckland Airport has seen him suspended from his job as transport minister.

He should have declared the shares on his pecuniary interest register after becoming an MP, when he discovered the shares were owned directly rather than held in a trust, he should have proactively corrected his previously incorrect declarations, and he should have sold the shares when he was repeatedly reminded of the fact he had not by the Cabinet office.

This last transgression is pure sloppiness, and it's no surprise that it was the reason Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said was "material" in deciding to suspend Wood.

Potential perceived conflicts of interest are serious, and the fact Wood held the shares while responsible for the aviation sector (before the aviation delegation was palmed off to Kieran McAnulty in June 2022) is a problem.

There is no suggestion Wood acted inappropriately given his shareholding - and there's no way a minister earning about $300,000 a year would be tempted to misbehave to pump the value of $13,000 worth of shares they bought as a teenager. Wood may not be able to follow the instructions of the Cabinet Office, but he can count and knows $13,000 is not worth risking a career over.

Wood has stuffed up, no doubt, but he has not erred so seriously that Hipkins cannot welcome him back into the fold.

He's so far been a good minister, a Mr Fix it, and in the double-entry bookkeeping of ministerial confidence, Wood's assets to Hipkins’ ministry exceed the liability engendered by this screw up. He's also important to Labour.

Wood, who may have challenged Hipkins for the leadership after it was vacated by Jacinda Ardern this year, appeals to the redder part of Labour that wants the party to stand for something more than sausage rolls. Hipkins is going to need an army of doorknockers to stave of National come October. Wantonly sacking his rival would risk the volunteer base staying home.

But Hipkins’ suspension was the right move.

New Zealand has rules around disclosure for a reason. Whether those rules should set a higher dollar threshold for disclosure is an open question, the fact is they do not currently and Wood has fallen short of the standards expected by the rules as they currently stand.

If his stand-down period turns up no further transgressions (which is not out of the question, given the many and varied endings of the Stuart Nash saga) then it is fair to restore Wood to his portfolios.

National, clearly relishing the boot being on the other foot, has quite fairly pointed out that Labour seems to be suffering from a repeated string of personnel issues.

Leader Christopher Luxon on Tuesday said Labour should focus less on itself and more on the issues afflicting the country - a stock standard line every political party trots out when their competition is in a spot of bother.

Clichéd or not, Luxon is right, and Wood's return to the transport portfolio may be necessary to get a handful of heavy projects over the line prior to the election. These include the next three-year transport budget, which will almost certainly include a fuel tax hike, Auckland light rail, and potential congestion charging.

Ministerial scandals - even repeated ones - rarely bring down governments. Journalist Nikki Hager's King's Birthday Honour announced on Monday serves as a reminder that even very serious allegations of conduct seldom deflate otherwise popular governments.

His book, Dirty Politics, washed over John Key in 2014, despite it coming on the back of a fairly torrid period in that Government's history, although his 2002 book Seeds of Distrust may have dented Labour's polling in the 2002 election enough to tip Helen Clark into a second term of minority government.

If people like a leader and like what they’re offering, it appears no amount of ministerial naughtiness can dissuade them.

Hipkins’ challenge is to put together a platform that is worth reelecting his government for, despite its very serious shortcomings.

No easy task. National's list of policies stand out compared to Labour's mishaps, but to win the election they will have to stand out on their own.

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