KEY POINTS:
A poll suggesting nearly half of voters want New Zealand First leader Winston Peters sacked as a minister reflects his party's lack of popular support, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
The Fairfax poll comes as Mr Peters prepares to face Parliament's privileges committee tonight over allegations he
broke Parliament's rules by failing to declare a $100,000 donation from expatriate billionaire Owen Glenn towards his legal fees.
The poll showed 48 percent of voters believed Prime Minister Helen Clark should stand Mr Peters down from his ministerial positions over the donations issue.
Miss Clark said she had seen the poll, but the result was probably due to NZ First's small support base.
"He runs a small party, so by definition the overwhelming majority of people don't support him or his party and that would have a bearing on that assessment."
In another poll released by TVNZ tonight, people were surveyed on whether they believed the donations story had affected Mr Peters' ability to do his foreign affairs work.
Of the 1000 people polled, 27 percent said it had a high impact on his ability to do his job, 37 percent said some impact and 32 percent said it made do difference.
TVNZ said Miss Clark told them Mr Peters was not a political liability yet.
Miss Clark has accepted Mr Peters' word that nothing illegal has happened and has said his fate will probably lie with the court of public opinion.
Two recent polls found NZ First polling 4 percent and one other put it at 6.5 percent.
Thirty seven percent of voters surveyed in the Fairfax poll felt he should keep his positions.
The poll also found 52 percent of voters did not want Labour to negotiate with NZ First about forming a government after the election, compared with 39 percent who did.
In the case of National it was 54 percent "no" versus 36 percent "yes".
Miss Clark said what parties formed the next government were "entirely a matter for discussion" after the next election.
The last election had delivered a "fractured" Parliament and there was no reason to think it would be any easier to form a government after the next election.
Miss Clark is yet to announce an election date with many picking it will be on November 8 with the last possible date on November 15.
Miss Clark said with a three year parliamentary term the Government could not just "hang up its boot" and campaign for a year.
"You have to get on with the policy and there's quite a lot coming through the system, including quite a lot of bills for introduction."
- NZPA
