Soper says Wood should go

Barry Soper writes:

An embarrassed Chris Hipkins says it’s unacceptable for the minister to hold on to the shares for so long and after so many requests to rid himself of them. But it seems unacceptability is acceptable in this Government’s books.

It also seems, at least at the moment, for the Minister in his transport role to turn down a case by a North Shore airport to get a more formal status. Of course it would work in competition to the super city’s airport, and for a share-holding minister to turn down an application by competitors is what is really unacceptable.

There should be no coming back for Wood; he’s transgressed in one of the worse ways a minister can.

It’s incredible to think he follows a line of ministers who’ve crossed the line since Hipkins took over from Jacinda Ardern.

Stuart Nash is still under investigation; there’s Jan Tinetti, who faces the privileges committee on Thursday for either being dumb, or obstinate or arrogant by not correcting a statement she made to Parliament when she had plenty of opportunity to do so; and there’s Kiri Allan who’s faced a number of transgressions.

It’s almost quicker to list the Ministers not caught up in a scandal!

Ministers in other governments over the years have been given the boot for less. But it seems Hipkins, the sous chef in Ardern’s kitchen Cabinet, is as weak as her when it comes to Cabinet discipline.

If you don’t get sacked for ignoring the Cabinet Office 12 times, then what do you have to do to get sacked? Do it 13 times? 14 times?