David Seymour eager to avoid Waitangi where colleagues are 'bickering like school kids'

ACT MP David Seymour.
ACT MP David Seymour. Photo credit: Getty

David Seymour says he is in no rush to head up to Waitangi, as his "political colleagues are all bickering like school kids".

The ACT MP says although he will head up later on Wednesday evening, he is eager to avoid the lead-up and will be going primarily for the early morning prayer on Thursday. 

"I think actually having something dignified and apolitical like that on what is actually our national day as much as we have one is worth doing, but to go up and literally see Winston and James pushing each other in front of Simon Bridges is not really my cup of tea," Seymour told Magic Talk on Wednesday.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and Opposition leader Simon Bridges met face-to-face at Waitangi on Tuesday - their first meeting since Bridges declared National would not work with Peters if given the option in the September election.  

Tensions between the two were high, with Newshub political editor Tova O'Brien telling The AM Show that the deterioration of their relationship was writ large as the two walked to the upper marae.

"[Green Party co-leader] James Shaw, poor bugger, pulled back to separate them  - he was Switzerland between Winston Peters and Simon Bridges as they walked onto the upper marae during that powhiri," she said. 

"It's never been uglier. There's a lot of utu there, there's a lot of bad blood  that runs deep... there's just utter disdain between those two so it was inevitable, I think, that they could not work together."

Instead of visiting Waitangi earlier as many of his colleagues had, Seymour visited the Bay of Plenty to meet with gun owners. 

"If I can be here in Tauranga talking to people who actually want to have a conversation about how we make policy to make this country a better place, or I could be up there listening to that, I'm glad I'm here," he said.