One Candidate, One Pint: Michael Wood, comeback kid, on his 'traumatic' political exit

'Politics is what I loved and wanted, and then it was gone.'

It's not often I get to be taller than a politician, so I'm glad Michael Wood made time for a pint today. Although, midday Tuesday sort of feels like a loose time to be enjoying a pint of Kilkenny and jalapeño poppers for lunch. But when in Mount Roskill's Irish pub Dicey Reilly's, drink as the locals do.

You'll remember Wood from such roles as minister for transport in the sixth Labour government, before 2023 put him "through the grinder". That June, Wood resigned from cabinet after it was revealed he had failed to disclose multiple shareholdings he owned in areas conflicting with his ministerial responsibilities. He was ordered to apologise to parliament by the Privileges Committee, and lost the race to retain his Mount Roskill seat in that year's election to National's Carlos Cheung.

It was a "shell shock of a year", but 2024 was just "dark" – without politics, Wood's sense of identity and purpose had shattered. He moved back into trade unionism, feeling it important to "go back to [his] roots" and advocate for the "big thing" he cares about in politics: "dignity for working people".

But still weighing on him was the "traumatic experience" of his parliamentary fall from grace, and Wood was trying to find some inner peace. "Politics is what I loved and wanted, and then it was gone," he says, with a glint of something threatening to spill from his tear ducts. It takes a few seconds to recompose and find the right words. "I just needed to go back to base," Wood explains – so he undertook a 500km pilgrimage through Italy's Apennine Mountains, in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi. Wood was raised Anglican, but now attends a Presbyterian church.

"Something that you have running through most major faith traditions is trying to find some level of acceptance that things happen – and they can be really unfair, even – but once they've happened you cannot change them," Wood says. "Getting pretty bitter and wrought up, that never goes anywhere good. You can have a level of acceptance, some learning from that and go to the next thing."

It was on that trail that Wood decided, all right – I'm throwing my hat back in the ring. He launched his campaign for Mount Roskill earlier than most, and has essentially spent this entire year trying to turn the seat red again (a recent poll put his re-election chances well ahead of Cheung). It's a former Labour stronghold, containing the Auckland suburb of the same name, as well as neighbouring areas Three Kings, Hillsborough, Waikōwhai and a large chunk of Balmoral. It is historically a working-class community, with strong state housing stock developed in the post-war baby boom. Over the decades Mount Roskill has become home to many immigrant families from the Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. According to 2023 census data, it is the most ethnically diverse suburb in the mega melting pot that is Auckland.

From a vibrant dining scene to close-knit communities, the "deeply embedded" multiculturalism is one of the area's many highlights, Wood says. He shares that some locals have found it difficult contending with some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric shared by a corner of the coalition. In the wake of Winston Peters' infamous racist remarks to Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, Wood says Mount Roskill's migrant residents shared with him that they had "faced more racism on the street than they have for faced for years".

For Wood, his "big battle" for the electorate is housing insecurity and halting the state housing sell-off initiated by this government through Kāinga Ora. While out of politics, Wood had set up the Mount Roskill Community Association, which largely does housing advocacy work through housing clinics and support for those in high levels of need. His proudest moment in his last months as an MP was helping a constituent who had struggled to find state housing through the Ministry of Social Development. With persistence Wood's team was able to house the man, "and I still see him; his life has just transformed".

"I'm a very policy-driven guy, but you can [make change] through practical solutions as well," Wood says. "You just have to go into bat for people."

THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A

How much should a pint cost?

I kind of cringe if it's more than $12, but the reality is that it's not the fault of the poor pubs. It's often more than that, like the cost of carbon dioxide going up recently.

Do you have a karaoke go-to?

I have the most untuneful voice in any room. But if I had to, 'Power and Passion' by Midnight Oil. It's a good working-class song about standing up. Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.

Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?

I really love it here. Another spot would be Galbraith's in town; for years that's been my go-to. My 40th birthday party was there. It's also on a good bus route for me – you have a quiet little session on a Sunday afternoon with a friend, then jump on the 27 bus.

Which three candidates would be on your pub quiz team?

Kieran [McAnulty, Labour candidate for Wairarapa] is a good mate of mine. We've been on pub quiz teams before; excellent sporting knowledge. We would need a younger person who could answer a good K-pop question, so I reckon Naisi Chen [Labour candidate for Auckland Central] would join us for that. I've always gotten on well with Julie Anne Genter [Green candidate for Wellington Bays]. I've never been on a pub quiz team with her, but I reckon she would have some good niche technical knowledge.

Which candidate from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?

Someone I would quite enjoy is Gerry Brownlee [National list-only candidate]. I've often quite enjoyed his presence around parliament; I sat on the business committee with him when I was party whip. He's got a love for parliament – which I love – and there'd be lots of stories. What I like about Gerry is he is a National man through and through, totally partisan at times, but I have seen a level of decency and care from him when someone's been in the shit.

Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?

In general, it would have to be the proliferation of off-licences, particularly in vulnerable communities. There actually was quite a bit of good work done on that, right back to the end of the Key era, but then it was blocked through the courts for many years. I think we need to keep on that, because I do find it concerning that in the poorest, most vulnerable communities, you get the proliferation of liquor stores, unhealthy fast food and loan sharks.

What’s a policy area we’ve been nursing without finishing the glass?

I'm the fair pay agreements guy. They were starting to be negotiated, and the bus drivers were the group who were the closest [to settling]. Probably, if the election had been a few months later, they would have had a fair pay agreement and you would have stopped this kind of horrible race to the bottom where these really important workers just get their terms and conditions stomped on, so a company can get a contract to get one up on it over the competitor.

What qualities make a good drinking partner?

My grandma used to say, "you've got two ears and one mouth". Someone who just sits there and blabs away the whole time can get pretty old pretty soon. [I like] someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously.

Have you ever had a Schnapps election moment where you regretted your political instinct?

I can think of one very specific one. Maureen Pugh had basically denied the existence of climate change, which I think is a damaging and stupid position to take. I was going through the tiles and asked what I thought about that; you might remember a few years ago, Simon Bridges had been caught saying something very unkind about her. And I referred back to that.

I felt really bad after that. I just thought, "you shouldn't have gone there".