Read about Michael Wood net worth, age, wife, children, height, family, parents, salary and party as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Michael Wood is a New Zealand Labour Party politician. He is a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, representing Mount Roskill. He is Minister of Transport, Minister of Immigration and Minister for Auckland in the Sixth Labour Government.
Early life
| Name | Michael Wood |
| Net Worth | $3 million |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Age | 43 years |
| Height | 1.78m |
Michael Philip Wood was born on May 10, 1980 (age 43 years) in New Zealand. He is the son of New Zealand parents. He attended Pakuranga College and graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in 2005. While a university student Wood worked as a Christmas tree salesman. After finishing university he initially worked in retail jobs for several years, including at Hugh Wright’s, a men’s clothing store.
Career
Michael Wood joined the union movement and worked as an organizer and a senior negotiator for the financial sector union Finance and Information Workers Union. He then joined Habitat for Humanity as an advisor working on several issues such as their health and safety procedures.
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Wood’s first year at university in 1998, he became critical of the direction of New Zealand under the Fourth National Government, confirmed by that year’s power crisis in Auckland. Wood reflected that the period was “a sign that things weren’t working well in our society.” He joined Princes Street Labour and later took part in the Hikoi for Hope, a 1998 nationwide protest against inequality led by the Anglican Church of New Zealand.
He stood unsuccessfully for Labour 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 and was re-elected in 2013. He was the Labour candidate during the 2011 Botany by-election and in the 2014 election stood in Epsom.
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’s announcing he would instead contest the 2016 Auckland mayoral election. Goff endorsed Wood as his successor.
Following Goff’s election to the Auckland mayoralty and resignation as a Member of Parliament in October 2016, Michael Wood was confirmed as the candidate for the Mt Roskill by-election. 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.
Michael Wood was named on December 16, 2016, 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 and was appointed to the Finance and Expenditure Committee.
Wood retained the Mount Roskill electorate during the 2017 New Zealand general election, preserving his large majority. Wood was sworn in as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Ethnic Communities following the formation of the Sixth Labour Government, and was additionally appointed as chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee.
In a June 2019 reshuffle, Michael Wood was promoted to Chief Government Whip, succeeding Ruth Dyson. Wood was a member of the Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considered the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Wood was re-elected in Mount Roskill by a final margin of 13,853 votes, defeating the National Party’s candidate Parmjeet Parmar. Wood was promoted to cabinet following the 2020 election, becoming Minister of Transport, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, and Deputy Leader of the House.
In a cabinet reshuffle announced by Ardern on 13 June 2022, Wood was replaced as Deputy Leader of the House by Kieran McAnulty and took on the position of Minister of Immigration whilst retaining the Transport and Workplace Safety portfolios.
Michael Wood in his capacity as Immigration Minister in early July 2022 stated that hospitality and tourism businesses needed to raise their wages in order to attract more foreign workers to New Zealand. His remarks were criticized by the ACT party candidate Chris Baillie, who accused him of attacking businesses. Wood defended his remarks, stating that he had spoken to hospitality and tourism workers.
Wood defended the Government’s decision on July 5, 2022, to exclude nurses from its fast-track residency pathway on the ground that nurses left their profession after gaining residency status. The National Party’s immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford criticized the exclusion of nurses as discriminatory and claimed that it worsened the country’s shortage of nurses. On 1 February 2023, Wood gained the additional portfolios of the Minister for Auckland and Associate Minister of Finance.
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He was opposed to End of Life Choice and in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis. During the 2022 Wellington anti-vaccine mandate protest, Wood stated on 17 February there was a “river of filth” and claimed that anti-vaccine mandate protesters were motivated by violence, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. He also implored members of the center-right National and ACT parties not to engage with the protesters.
Wife
Michael Wood is married to Julie Fairey, they had their wedding in New Zealand. His wife is also a politician who was elected to the Auckland Council in 2022 as a councillor for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward. Wood and his wife Fairey have a long history of being politically active; both having run campaigns as electorate MPs in the 2002 New Zealand general election. In 2010, Wood and his wife Fairey were elected together as members of the Puketāpapa Local Board. As of 2023 Wood lives in Roskill South with his wife Julie and their three sons. For several years he was the main caregiver for his children.
Michael Wood net worth
How much is Michael Wood worth? Michael Wood net worth is estimated at around $3 million. His main source of income is from his primary work as a politician. Michael Wood’s salary per month and other career earnings are over $350,000 dollars annually. His remarkable achievements have earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy car trips. He is one of the richest and most influential politicians in New Zealand. He stands at an appealing height of 1.78m and has a good body weight which suits his personality.