Naked corruption

Last week Transport Minister Michael Wood was stood down after failing to properly declare a conflict of interest. He owned shares in Auckland Airport, a company he was responsible for regulating while Minister, and while the amount of money involved was small compared to his $296,007 ministerial salary (but large from a normal person's perspective), it simply wasn't acceptable. Meanwhile, Stuff has reminded us about a much larger conflict of interest: Chris Luxon's seven houses:

Five of Christopher Luxon’s seven properties can have more townhouses or apartments built next door under the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) –a law which was passed with bipartisan support, but which National has now said it will repeal if elected in October.

That includes his five-bedroom Remuera home, which shifts from being zoned for standalone homes up to two storeys with landscaped gardens, to allowing three homes of up to three storeys under the MDRS.

While individual landowners could benefit in the short-term from the ability to subdivide a property into more homes under the MDRS, a shift away from higher density is forecast to lead to higher prices in the long-term.

Luxon’s property portfolio has fallen an estimated $6.7 million in value during the current downturn, according to CoreLogic data.

...which means they can be expected to rise by a similar amount if the policy is reversed. And yet, Luxon is not considered to have a conflict of interest, despite directly advocating for a policy which would personally enrich him by millions of dollars.

This is simply corrupt. There is no other name for it. And if rich politicians can't stop themselves from behaving corruptly, then voters need to stop them from doing it, by simply not electing them in the first place.