Garrett, Hide has no credibility - Goff

Act MP David Garrett resigned as an Act MP today. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Act Party has been "thoroughly" discredited and its ministerial positions should be removed, Labour leader Phil Goff says.

His comments come after Act MP David Garrett resigned today hours after party leader Rodney Hide said he couldn't support him because of an affidavit Mr Garrett had submitted to court over a passport fraud case.

"This latest incident discredits the Act Party, and is likely to finish it as a political force," Mr Goff said.

"One thing the public can't stand is absolute hypocrisy. The public will be asking Rodney Hide why it was okay for him to have David Garrett as a political candidate only as long as the public didn't know what he had done.

"It was Mr Hide who told (Mr) Garrett to run as a candidate even when he knew about the identity theft."

Mr Garrett revealed this week he had stolen the identity of a dead baby to obtain a false passport in 1984 by getting the details from a cemetery headstone.

He spoke out in Parliament after the revelation that he had picked up an assault conviction in 2002 over an altercation he had in Tonga with a doctor.

He was arrest in 2005 and submitted an affidavit before sentencing - he was discharged without conviction.

Mr Hide said the concerning aspect of the case was that in sentencing, the judge talked about Mr Garrett's previously blameless life.

Mr Garrett has resigned from the party and has taken two weeks' leave from Parliament to consider whether has a future as an independent MP.

"Mr Garrett should not be in Parliament. He has no mandate and no credibility. Nor has Mr Hide who saw nothing wrong with having Mr Garrett in Parliament as long as he wasn't found out," Mr Goff said.

Mr Hide was told by Mr Garrett about the passport fraud when he applied to be a party member, but Mr Hide said he considered it had been historic and was prepared to give him a chance.

He said today he couldn't recall what level of detail Mr Garrett had gone into when telling him about how he had obtained the passport.

Mr Hide said he had not got around to actually asking Mr Garrett if he had been truthful with the court. "To be frank, I was going to have that conversation with him today and I haven't."

- NZPA