He spent eight years as a detective inspector in Palmerston North before returning to Auckland in 1988. Wood held a variety of positions, including head of the Auckland Fraud Squad for two years, before transferring to North Shore as second in charge in 1995. He had around 215 staff under his command on the Shore, about a third of the staff employed by North Shore City Council. And he feels the North Shore police have been starved of resources as a result. Certainly that is one area that I will be keeping an eye on in this new job.
Wood sees sewerage, transport and growth as the North Shore's major issues.
Restricting growth is not simply turning off the tap. I know people are concerned about infill housing and subdivisions and the issue of commercial growth. He is amazed that nothing has been done on a large scale to remedy the relentlessly increasing traffic congestion as people try to cross the harbour bridge. Nothing has changed. There is very little protection for people standing out in the elements waiting for the buses.