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Wood was asked 12 times about airport shares, PM says

Anna Whyte

Michael Wood has been stood down as transport minister over his shares in Auckland Airport.

Wood did not properly declare the shares and did not complete the sale of shares last year.

The Cabinet Office asked him 12 times since November 2020 if he had sold the shares.

Wood’s wife, Auckland councillor Julie Fairey, is also a beneficiary of a trust that owns airport shares in a managed fund.

Wood was approached 12 times by the Cabinet Office over his Auckland Airport shares, seeking to confirm he had sold or was in the process of selling his shares.

Wood told media the Cabinet office provided advice to him, which he ‘‘should have responded to with more urgency’’.

He has not sold the shares yet but contacted his new broker yesterday morning to get the process under way.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was questioned about the suspended transport minister’s shares in the House yesterday by deputy National Party leader Nicola Willis.

Hipkins listed the 12 dates, ranging from November 19, 2020, to March 27, 2023, when the Cabinet Office ‘‘sought to confirm whether he had divested the shareholding’’.

‘‘Throughout the process Michael Wood confirmed he was about to or was in the process of divesting the shareholdings,’’

Hipkins said.

Willis asked if it was honest of Wood to, on 12 occasions, commit to selling the airport shares but then fail to do so.

‘‘I think he should have divested the shares when he first said he was going to,’’ Hipkins said.

Wood said he regretted that he did not pursue that advice from the Cabinet Office as quickly as he should have.

When asked on Tuesday how many times the Cabinet Office had checked whether Wood had sold the shares, Hipkins said ‘‘probably somewhere around half a dozen’’.

That doubled yesterday, with Hipkins listing all the occasions since 2020 that the Cabinet Office had sought to confirm the shares had been sold.

National News

en-nz

2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281724093947178

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