Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters' attacks on the media are "really concerning" and Christopher Luxon needs to set higher standards on the issue, a Labour MP says.
This week, Peters has questioned the independence of the media and fasely said the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF) from New Zealand on Air was a "bribe" to journalists.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has urged Prime Minister Luxon to set some "clear boundaries" for his deputy and show better leadership on the matter.
"I think what really he announced yesterday is that he has no control over Winston Peters, Winston Peters has no respect for him and there is nothing he can really do about Winston Peters' behaviour," Hipkins said on Thursday. "I don't think that is good enough from a Prime Minister."
Labour MP Ginny Andersen told AM it was crucial everyone, including the media, were treated with respect.
"Not ideal at all," she said of Peters' comments.
"I think that some of the comments made by Winston Peters, there's an expectation that the Prime Minister would set a high standard of the way we treat everybody - including media."
The comments were "really concerning", Andersen said.
However, the Coalition Government was in "lockstep" and that was the most important thing, senior minister Erica Stanford retorted.
"David Seymour, Winston Peters and Christopher Luxon [are] in lockstep around our agenda," she told AM, appearing alongside Andersen.
"They are absolutely on the same page."
Peters' comments aside, Stanford said the Government had an "amazing" 100-day plan in place.
The plan would deliver "for New Zealanders - and that's what matters", she said.
