Our Sub-Leader from Digital Edition June 15, 2023
Venkat Raman
Auckland, June 16, 2023
On the face of it, Transport Minister Michael Wood should have disposed of his shares in Auckland Airport, because he is the first man in the transport business and hence should not be a party to vested interest.
But to ask for his head for this failure is stupefying.
Mr Wood owned a paltry $13,000 worth of shares, which he purchased more than 25 years ago as a teenager. He did not declare it in the first instance because admittedly, he had mistakenly thought that they were held in a trust.
He apologised unconditionally and subsequently sold the shares and donated the proceeds to charity. That should have ended the matter.
A tall claim
He has been championing Auckland’s Light Rail which is a multi-billion dollar public transport project that will connect the city centre to the airport. He is also the Minister for Auckland which means he would discuss transport issues with the City’s Mayor.
The National Party went to town on the issue and called on Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to sack the erring Minister, saying that Mr Wood is guilty of a conflict of interest and that his shareholding would impact his investment in transport, notably the Light Rail Project.
Really?
Auckland’s Light Rail Project is estimated to cost not less than $10 billion.
Mr Wood is not a significant shareholder to tilt anything in his favour. He erred in not transferring the shares to a trust or selling them away, we agree. But to question his motives is mischievous. In fact, as politicians of other political parties have pointed out, the honesty and integrity of Mr Wood have never been questioned.
David Seymour, Leader of the ACT Party, who seldom loses an occasion to point an accusing finger at the Labour government, does not believe that Mr Wood is building Light Rail in the hope that it would boost Auckland Airport’s shares.
“He owns $13,000 of Auckland Airport shares. The idea that he is building the Light Rail there to try and enrich himself does not quite stack up he told the AM television show.
Mr Wood is one of the best-performing Ministers and his level of integrity is high.
It is equally high to say that he tried to hide the information.
No place to hide
No Member of Parliament, no less a Minister, can withhold any information relating to their financial assets. Information technology already means that physical privacy has become a scarce commodity. Websites track your interests and purchases. Mobile phones give away your location. Video cameras record what you are up to. Lose mental privacy as well, and there really will be nowhere to hide.
Niccolò Machiavelli’s words, “Those princes who do great things have considered keeping their word of little account and have known how to beguile men’s minds by shrewdness and cunning,” may fit some politicians.
But Mr Wood represents a new, more direct and personable style of politics. His greatest achievement is managing the almost impossible feat of being a politician who comes across to the public, especially younger voters as if he is not a politician at all.
We do not believe that there has been any fibbing involved, although we admit that in many cases- past and present, politics has never been synonymous with truthfulness.
At worst, Mr Wood is another victim of someone else’s failing.
