Winston Peters has blasted Opposition leader Judith Collins for spreading a "steady stream of misinformation" about the Government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NZ First leader released a statement on Thursday as Deputy Prime Minister calling on Collins to "stop undermining democracy" by accusing the Government of not sharing information with the Opposition about alert level plans.
"There is no convention for power sharing such as Ms Collins, a trained lawyer, is claiming," Peters said. "She should know better. So who is giving her that advice and why is she taking it?"
Collins on Wednesday said she was disappointed that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put Auckland into alert level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country into level 2 without a level of consultation to her satisfaction.
"Only about half an hour before the scheduled press conference, she telephoned me and advised me that they believed there was community transmission and they could not find the source of where this had come," Collins said.
"It is very important at a time like [this], especially when we are only five weeks out from an election, and only a few weeks out from the opening of polling booths that we have the Government respecting the pre-election conventions.
"It is always a part of our pre-election conventions that the Government does not make major decisions without a full consultation with the Opposition. Just advising the leader of the Opposition, like myself, just before a public announcement is not consultation."
Peters said New Zealanders are being fed "misinformation" by Collins.
"New Zealanders are sadly being fed a steady stream of misinformation about the pre-election period from the National Party. Its effect is to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the current Government as it focuses solely on protecting the health of New Zealanders."
He said the current Government continues to have full powers to govern until the election.
"The 'caretaker convention' does not apply in the pre-election period. It only commences post-election, up to and until there is either confirmation of the old Government or a new one," Peters said.
"Therefore, Judith Collins and the National Party are sadly misrepresenting the constitutional position to the public."
Peters said Kiwis are witnessing the "disappointing collapse of a once honourable" political party.
"National is in danger of losing its way."
He said the 'team of 5 million' is focused on restoring the nation's health, while the National Party "appears focused on undermining" that effort.
"If it wasn't so malicious and dangerous for our democracy it would merely be sad."
Collins said it was not acceptable that National Party health spokesman Dr Shane Reti had been asking for a briefing from the Minister of Health Chris Hipkins and health officials "all day" and had not received one.
The Opposition leader is calling on the Prime Minister to delay the election until November or next year because political parties are not able to campaign under the alert level restrictions.
Collins and her deputy leader Gerry Brownlee have also questioned whether the Prime Minister and Director-General of Health knew about community transmission in New Zealand before they led on.
Brownlee on Wednesday questioned the timing of the Prime Minister's visit to a mask factory and Dr Bloomfield getting a test earlier this week, suggesting it was an "interesting series of facts".
A group of 50 of New Zealand's leading infectious disease and public health scientists are urging political leaders to cooperate on COVID-19 and stop politicising the latest outbreak of community transmission.
