Reacting to the announcement that Michael Wood has resigned as a Minister, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager Callum Purves said:

“Michael Wood put himself in a position where it became simply untenable for him to remain as a Minister. Today’s developments of further undisclosed conflicts emerging simply reaffirmed the need for his resignation but also raised concerns that the Cabinet Office simply has to rely on the word of the Minister that there are no conflicts. This is not good enough.

“This whole episode is incredibly damaging of public confidence and perceptions of Cabinet’s conflict of interest processes. Just over a week since we launched our petition calling for Mr Wood’s resignation, thousands of concerned New Zealanders have signed it. The public are demanding higher standards from those in power which the Taxpayers’ Union has long called for.

“We welcome the announcement that more robust and timely processes will be put in place and await further details on any proposed restrictions regime for Minsters’ shareholdings.”

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