A scathing inquiry has criticised former Cabinet minister Michael Wood for “a worrying and ongoing lack of awareness” over the need to quickly correct errors when managing conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n
Wood – who\u00a0resigned as a minister last month<\/a>\u00a0– has now been referred to Parliament’s Privileges Committee, where MPs will consider whether he is guilty of contempt.<\/p>\n Registrar of Pecuniary Interests Sir Maarten Wevers\u00a0launched an investigation in June<\/a>\u00a0after it was revealed the then-transport minister had\u00a0failed to sell his shares in Auckland Airport<\/a>\u00a0despite repeatedly being told by Cabinet officials to do so.<\/p>\n His report, published on Tuesday, concluded Wood “did not turn his mind to his interests as he should have”.<\/p>\n “In so doing, he has damaged his own standing as a member and has also cast a shadow over the entire register, and the trust and confidence that the public are entitled to expect they can have in their elected representatives.”<\/p>\n Sir Maarten said he was “surprised and concerned” Wood could not say whether had read the material given to all MPs every year which outlines their obligations.<\/p>\n “Wood also demonstrated a worrying and ongoing lack of awareness of the need to correct errors and omissions in his pecuniary interest returns and that the corrections should be notified in a timely manner,” he said.<\/p>\n “Wood was very tardy in correcting his prior returns.”<\/p>\n Sir Maarten interviewed Wood face-to-face on 28 June, and noted the MP brought along “a senior partner in a leading law firm” without any warning before their meeting.<\/p>\n “After some consideration, I decided to allow that gentleman to remain in the room, but only as an observer, and adviser – if requested – to Wood.”<\/p>\n