Why Wood was grounded and the PM's battle for clear air

Michael Wood got parked as transport minister yesterday, his explanation about not selling airport shares found wanting. He's the fifth minister to cause the prime minister problems since January

Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, June 7, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.

In today’s edition: 50,000 awards to recognise frontline workers during pandemic remain unclaimed; mega polytech’s operating model could be a decade away; new measures to curb youth vaping; but first, Wood’s office knew about media interest in his airport shares last Thursday but the prime minister wasn’t given a heads up until Monday night

Wood asked six times to sell shares

Following prime minister Chris Hipkins’ decision to stand Michael Wood down as transport minister after he failed to declare his shares in Auckland airport, it was revealed yesterday Wood had been asked about six times by the Cabinet Office since the end of 2020 to sell the shares. Stuff’s Luke Malpass runs us through the various ministers that have caused Hipkins a few headaches (now including Wood) and makes the observation that Hipkins is dealing with an “inherited” government — “with its people, culture and a post-pandemic tiredness.” There’s something quite human and reasonable in that observation but it might also be fair to ask the non-ministerial person on the street who is also working long hours and dealing with life admin what they think the consequences what be if they were asked to do something six times as a requirement of their job and failed to do it. Mourning the now-dormant Beehive Letters Twitter account, Newsroom’s Marc Daalder revived the old format, writing: 
“Cabinet Office to Michael Wood
RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Those airport shares…”

Hipkins not given heads up about share issue until Monday night

As Newsroom’s Jo Moir details, Wood’s office was asked to respond to questions about the shares from the Herald on Thursday morning. Hipkins was made aware on Monday night before the story was published in the Herald yesterday morning. Moir writes that the incident reveals that Hipkins “still has staff and ministers who think time isn’t of the essence when there’s been a political stuff-up, and Hipkins should be deeply concerned by that four months out from an election when every little error can be quickly turned into a scandal.” The Herald’s Thomas Coughlan notes (paywalled) that ministerial scandals seldom lose elections and Wood’s error is sloppy but Hipkins made the right move standing him down.

Wood declined aerodrome’s application for airport authority status while owning shares in Auckland airport

Coughlan also reports this morning that Wood declined North Shore Aerodrome’s application for airport authority status while he owned shares in Auckland Airport, a potential competitor. Transport officials recommended the small Dairy Flat airfield get airport authority status in March 2021. As Coughlan notes, this isn’t necessarily a question about Wood's shareholding influencing his decisions here, but one of perception. National’s Paul Goldsmith says Wood should have recused himself from the decision. Hikpins would not give his view on whether Wood should have recused himself from the decision saying he wants “the facts before providing an opinion.”

Proposal to sell council shares in airport goes to vote tomorrow

The issue of Auckland airport shares is obviously highly topical, with more at stake than Wood’s ministerial career. Tomorrow, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown’s proposal to sell the Auckland Council's shares in Auckland airport goes to a vote. It’s that component that has seen Wood’s wife, Julie Fairey pulled into this. Fairey is a first-term Auckland councillor and she has now had to correct a statement about her and her husband’s role in a trust owning shares in Auckland airport. Fairey says pending advice from the Office of the Auditor General in relation to councillors who may have shareholdings in the airport, directly or indirectly, “I will follow accordingly regarding my participation in the coming Annual Budget vote”. On the issue of the share sale, I highly recommend BusinessDesk’s Pattrick Smellie’s column (paywalled). Smellie writes that “Wayne Brown’s crazy uncle routine is obscuring the fact that he’s got a very strong case in favour of selling the 18% share of Auckland international airport that Auckland council owns.”

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The Covid awards that have left many feeling hurt and frustrated

Duncan Greive has a story on The Spinoff this morning on the awards designed to recognise the service of frontline workers during the pandemic. A year on from the announcement of the awards, hundreds of seemingly eligible people and organisations have been turned down, while around 50,000 awards remain unclaimed. Greive spoke to Terry Taylor, the president of the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science (NZIMLS), whose members handled the testing for Covid, putting in thousands of hours with no financial compensation. Taylor read the reports about the awards and felt pleased that the work of the NZIMLS would be recognised. He then received an email saying “Unfortunately your organisation’s application has been unsuccessful.”

New measures to make vaping less accessible and attractive to young people

Health minister Ayesha Verrall announced further measures to curb youth vaping yesterday. The measures include prohibiting the sale of disposable and reusable vapes. Disposable or single-use vape products could not be sold from November, while reusable vapes could not be sold from March. Vaping shops must not operate within 300 metres of schools or marae and flavour names need to sound less like a Harry Styles song. Something like “Watermelon Melon Iced Lemonade”, a flavour profile that sounds far-fetched even for the most Wonka-esque of vape flavouristas, might just be “melon”.

Let Rec Room be your guide

I know there are endless shows I could watch and podcasts I could listen to, but I often end the week feeling overwhelmed, watching more Selling Sunset. If that sounds vaguely familiar, can I recommend the life raft that is Rec Room, our weekly newsletter covering the best in TV, film and podcasts? The Spinoff’s Chris Schulz is at the helm and he sorts a lot of wheat from the chaff each week, making must-watch recommendations and curating great reads on pop culture, culture and entertainment.

Tertiary provider Te Pūkenga has “no road map to follow”

In The Press this morning, Lee Kenny reports (paywalled) on findings from the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) that suggest the mega-polytechic, Te Pūkenga, is a deade a way from having an operating model. The OAG found that “current plans suggest the Te Pūkenga operating model will not be fully in place until sometime between 2027 and 2033” and expressed concerns about the progress of “critical parts” of the transformation programme. As Kenny notes, Te Pūkenga’s chief executive Peter Winder was due to appear before MPs last week as part of the Education and Workforce Committee’s annual review, but the meeting had to be rescheduled because Te Pūkenga’s annual report is late.

Click and collect

• The National party is pulling its support for the initiative to price agricultural emissions saying the He Waka Eke Noa process is “dead”

• Firefighters are battling a large blaze within the industrial area of a Shelly Bay development in Wellington this morning

• I had what feels like my 100th text like this at 3.31am this morning and have thankfully recognised them as scams from the get-go, but over 100,000 reports have been received about ‘NZTA toll’ scam phishing texts

• Gore mayor's former assistant loses name suppression and is discharged without conviction after forging prescriptions

• Universal basic income of £1,600 (about $3,200 NZD) a month to be trialled in two places in England

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

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