The minister who described the protest at Parliament in Wellington as “a river of filth” was yesterday found up Shit Creek without a paddle. The Prime Minister has had to effectively sack Michael Wood for being a dishonest, lying little weasel. Chris Hipkins let him resign rather than be formally sacked but, make no mistake, it was a sacking.
Michael Wood has quit as a Cabinet minister after it emerged he had more shareholding interests in areas that clashed with his portfolios.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed Wood’s resignation today, saying he became aware of the fresh issues yesterday.
It has emerged Wood held further shares in Chorus, Spark and the National Australia Bank, further to his Auckland Airport shares, that have since been disclosed to Hipkins.
Wood’s failure to manage the conflicts of interest was “beyond frustrating”.
The bank shares weren’t disclosed when the Cabinet discussed a possible market study into the banking industry. That was despite repeated requests from Hipkins and others for Wood to disclose his shares.
“New Zealanders expect and deserve very high standards from their ministers,” Hipkins said.
Hipkins said he was frustrated and angry at the revelations.
“These have been unnecessary distractions.”
NZ Herald
He had to go. He lied to the Prime Minister, he lied to the Registrar of Pecuniary Interests, he clearly has no concept of conflicts of interest and he’s destroyed his career over a few tiny holdings of shares.
He should now resign from Parliament. He’s been shown to being a lying, deceptive little socialist weasel.
Michael Wood spent years being Phil Goff’s under-study and heir apparent, but he poured petrol all over his parliamentary career and then carelessly tossed a match into the puddle.
The most amazing part of the whole press conference was watching Chris Hipkins rendered speechless at Michael Wood’s actions and excuses.
But Hipkins is also clearly shell-shocked by this latest shabby episode. He looked and sounded deflated. He is flagging because he knows that these sorts of mistakes can’t actually be fixed inside this Labour Government, because its stupidity, ineptitude and idiocy is actually endemic.
He is having to clean up the mess left by Jacinda Ardern and her poor grasp of governance. Ultimately these failures should be sheeted home to her.
How to Cope with Incompetent Ministers could be the title of the new changes Hipkins has announced for looking at pecuniary interests and dealing with conflicts of interest. Perhaps it would have been best if the incompetent ministers weren’t given any power in the first place.
Hipkins is taking advice from the Institute of Directors and also looking at Australia where ministers are required to divest themselves of shareholdings.
You could do all this – but why do ministers need to have this spelled out for them? Apparently “New Zealanders expect and deserve very high standards from their ministers”. Are those expectations higher than their leader’s expectations? It would appear so.
There is clearly a competency issue at play. This is a moral failing of Labour because they’ve sacked Wood for stupidity rather than incompetence.
Time to put this clown show out to pasture.
Help Fund Our NewsDesk
We are building a NewsDesk, hiring journalists and taking the fight to the mainstream media. Will you help fund our NewsDesk?
- For security reasons, credit card donations require Javascript. Please enable Javascript in your browser before continuing.
Your Donation
Your Recurring Donation
Donation Period *
Your One-Time Donation
Details First Name * Last Name * Email * Address Address 2 City State Postcode Country Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belau Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo (Brazzaville) Congo (Kinshasa) Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba CuraÇao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Republic of Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Martin (Dutch part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia/Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom (UK) United States (US) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican Venezuela Vietnam Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Western Samoa Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Phone Number Payment Name on Card * .StripeElement { border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 1em; } #charitable_stripe_card_errors { color: #eb1c26; font-size: .8em; margin: .5em 0 0 0; } Credit/Debit Card Donate
Please share this article so others can discover The BFD.
