Nats deputy 'lost respect' for Governor-General

National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee said today he has "lost respect" for the Governor-General over the way the new Government was formed.

Mr Brownlee said the current constitutional arrangements had been trampled over by Prime Minister Helen Clark "and her cohort".

Helen Clark has dismissed his comments as "irresponsible".

Mr Brownlee said Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright had relied only on advice from the Prime Minister during the formation of the Government.

Helen Clark was able to form a government with the help of New Zealand First and United Future as support parties. In return for his support, she made New Zealand First leader Winston Peters Foreign Minister outside Cabinet.

"The current arrangements we've got for Cabinet are a joke," Mr Brownlee told National Radio.

Too much power was being placed in the hands of one person, the Prime Minister, he said.

"I've got to say I've lost a huge amount of confidence in our current system as a result of the process that was followed for the formation of the Government in such a tight Parliament."

Mr Brownlee said he had decided not to go to Government House yesterday for a function for newly-elected Speaker Margaret Wilson.

"I have to publicly say I have lost respect for the Governor-General and I think it is time we sat down and started to look at a much more formal constitution for New Zealand.

"I think when it became tight, the Governor-General should have made some inquiries rather than continuing to consult entirely with Helen Clark."

The end result probably would not have been any different, he said, but added: " I think we do have to be assured that the Head of State has the interests of the people at heart."

Mr Brownlee said it was his view that New Zealand did not have a "safe constitution".

It was time to look at a more formal constitution to replace the "loose collection of documents", he said.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said the comments were irresponsible and inappropriate.

She said the governor-general as the Queen's representative in New Zealand "does stand above politics".

There were proper processes in place and she acted on advice from the Cabinet Office.

"The Cabinet Office advises me when I should phone, when she should phone me. It's a very, very proper process and it is important that there is respect for the head of State and her representative in New Zealand," Helen Clark said.

She said that during the second two-week period of negotiations, she had been told by the Cabinet Office it would be appropriate for her to appraise the governor-general of "where negotiations were at".

- NZPA