Michael Wood (New Zealand politician)

Michael Philip Wood (born 10 May 1980) is a New Zealand politician and, since winning the Mount Roskill by-election in December 2016, a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the Labour Party.

Michael Wood

MP
Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives
Assumed office
27 June 2019
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Preceded byRuth Dyson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary
for Ethnic Communities
In office
26 October 2017 – 27 June 2019
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
MinisterJenny Salesa
Succeeded byPriyanca Radhakrishnan
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Mount Roskill
Assumed office
3 December 2016
Preceded byPhil Goff
Majority6,518
Personal details
Born (1980-05-10) 10 May 1980
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Julie Fairey
Children3

Early life

Wood was born in 1980. He lives in Roskill South with his wife Julie and three sons. Prior to a career in politics he worked as an adviser for Habitat for Humanity and as a senior negotiator with the Finance and Information Workers Union.[1]

Political career

Wood stood in Pakuranga during the 2002 and 2005 elections and was on the Labour Party list in 2008. In 2010 he was elected to the Puketāpapa Local Board representing Roskill Community Voice.

He was the Labour candidate during the 2011 Botany by-election and in the 2014 election stood in Epsom.[2][3]

After serving as the Mount Roskill Labour electorate chairman, in June 2016 he was selected as the Labour party's electorate candidate for the 2017 election following Phil Goff announcing he would instead contest the 2016 Auckland mayoralty election. Goff endorsed Wood as his successor.[4][5]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
2016–2017 51st Mt Roskill Labour
2017–present 52nd Mt Roskill 27 Labour

Following Goff's election to the Auckland mayoralty and resignation as a Member of Parliament in October 2016, Wood was confirmed as the candidate for the Mt Roskill by-election.[6] Turnout was above average for a by-election, and Wood received more than twice as many votes as his closest rival, Parmjeet Parmar of the National Party.[7]

On 16 December 2016, he was named as the Labour Party's spokesman on Consumer Affairs, Ethnic Communities, and Revenue. On 7 February 2017, the first sitting day of Parliament since his election, he took the House of Representatives' Oath of Allegiance.[8] Wood retained the Mount Roskill electorate in 2017, preserving his large majority.[9]

Wood was sworn in as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Ethnic Communities following the formation of the Sixth Labour Government.[10][11]

In a June 2019 reshuffle, Wood was promoted to Chief Government Whip, succeeding Ruth Dyson.[12] Since 25 March 2020, Wood has been a member of the Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considers the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

References
  1. "Michael Wood". New Zealand Labour Party. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  2. "Official Count Results – Botany". Electoral Commission. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  3. Electoral Commission (10 October 2014). "Official Count Results – Epsom". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. Trevett, Claire (13 June 2016). "Labour names Michael Wood for Mt Roskill to take over Phil Goff". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  5. Trevett, Claire (12 June 2016). "Labour Party selects Michael Wood to replace Phil Goff as Mt Roskill candidate". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  6. Saxton, Amanda (9 October 2016). "Parties ramping up for Mt Roskill by-election". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  7. "Mt Roskill by-election: Labour candidate builds healthy lead". Radio New Zealand. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  8. "Daily progress for Tuesday, 7 February 2017".
  9. "Mt Roskill – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017.
  10. "Jacinda Ardern reveals ministers of new government". The New Zealand Herald. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  11. "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  12. "Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's cabinet reshuffle - the ups and downs". Stuff.co.nz. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  13. "Epidemic response". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Phil Goff		 Member of Parliament for Mount Roskill
2016–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Ruth Dyson		 Senior Whip of the Labour Party
2019–present		 Incumbent
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