Wood goes

Stuff reports:

Suspended transport minister Michael Wood has resigned as a Cabinet minister, after it was revealed his family trust held shares in Chorus, Spark, and the National Australia Bank that he did not declare.

Is there any former SOE that Wood wasn’t a shareholder in??

If you asked me a year ago the Minister least likely to have to resign because he or she had extensive shareholdings in corporates, it would have been Michael Wood.

How he could have sat there for two years in Cabinet meetings and either not revealing his shareholdings, or promising 12 times to sell them I don’t know. It is one of the stupidest ways I have seen a Minister lose their job.

It is sad on a human level. I knew Michael slightly before he became an MP. I disagree with him on many policies, but have no doubt he is well intentioned. To destroy your political career over something that could have been avoided with around two hours effort is sad.