Christopher Luxon has come under fire from the Greens accusing him of being "disconnected" and demonising parents for his truancy comments.
Last week in an AM interview, the National Party leader said some of the blame should fall on school leaders who weren't doing a good enough job at getting children in the classroom.
"There is a mixed standard of leadership across our schools and across our principals that actually means they're not focussing as strongly on getting kids to school as they can," Luxon said last week, comments which sparked calls for an apology from some in the education sector.
On Monday, Luxon pointed the finger at parents and had no time for their excuses.
"You chose to have these kids, you have to wake up at 7am, get your kids to school at 8am," he said.
"You have now got subsidised free lunches, free breakfasts, subsidised period products, subsidised school uniforms. There is no excuses. What we have in New Zealand is a culture of excuses."
Luxon told AM on Wednesday "all options need to be on the table" to improve New Zealand's "abysmal" attendance rates, and he's not ruling out going after bad parents and principals.
It came after figures showed just 40 percent of children went to school regularly in term two this year.
Greens Party co-leader Marama Davidson told AM Early on Thursday Luxon's comments show he's "disconnected" when families are going through hard times.
"Hōhā, disconnected and we already heard that he probably takes his children away for lovely holidays, which I don't begrudge of any family, but he's trying to demonise whole entire groups of families and parents," Davidson told AM Early host Oriini Kaipara.
"I know that parents are doing their best with what they've got and it's tough times for many people other than privileged MPs."
It comes after National came under fire for its youth policy that will see teenagers sent to military camps if they are serious repeat offenders and subjecting some kids as young as 10 years old to electronic monitoring.
Davidson said she definitely doesn't support National's military camp policy, labelling it "harmful" and "dangerous".
"It's not just rubbish, though, it's harmful, it's dangerous. It's lazy politics and the thing is, National know it is. But they are appealing to the lowest of us, to the lowest values of us, which is to continue to demonise families," Davidson said.
"What we should be doing is creating the conditions for well-being and having a look at making sure that everyone has got housing, adequate incomes, good health systems and education that uplifts who they are and their identity.
"So creating the conditions for well-being is how to interrupt the intergenerational cycle and resolve the trauma that is driving a lot of offending."
Davidson wasn't the only person criticising National's policy, with Justice Minister Kiri Allan saying sending youths to military camps would only create more victims.
"There's no better way to get fitter, faster, stronger, better, more well-connected criminals than by chucking them all together in an army camp to ultimately go on to form fully-fledged national networks," she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said similar policies in the past have failed.
He referenced a 2018 report on youth offending by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the then-Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, which found "boot camps do not work".
A 2016 report on military-style activity camps found just 16 percent of people involved didn't re-offend afterwards, but 79 percent offended less often and the seriousness of offending also decreased.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also took aim at the National Party leader saying a large proportion of parents "do believe an absence from school is justified for things like funerals, weddings and holidays".
"What the Leader of the Opposition seems to be suggesting is that parents should be criminalised for that."
Watch the full interview with Marama Davidson above.
