“Michael Wood can’t carry on as a Minister after declining airport authority status to North Shore Aerodrome, despite owning shares in a competing airport,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The question of Wood being a Minister is no longer a matter of ‘life admin’ as Chris Hipkins has put it. It is now a matter of whether people can trust the New Zealand Government to be open and transparent about who it serves.

“Yesterday, you could give Wood the benefit of the doubt. Sloppy and incompetent, but where’s the harm? Today, that question is answered. Nobody can trust a Government where the Minister making decisions for your business might be secretly investing in your competitor.

“If Chris Hipkins keeps Michael Wood as a Minister he is telling every New Zealander, and the world, that the Government may be working for its public interest, or perhaps for its members’ private interests. Who would know?

“That’s why he can’t be reinstated as Minister of Transport. He cannot be a Minister at all. If Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ real problem is he has nobody capable of filling the role, then he should bring forward the election.”

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