New Zealand's acting prime minister has lashed out at criticisms of his country's voting system by John Howard, appearing to suggest they were political interference and calling them "lazy" and "idle".
Invited to speak at the opposition New Zealand National Party's annual conference over the weekend, former prime minister Mr Howard called the outcome of last year's election in New Zealand "an unjust and unfair political result".
"You may have got the impression I didn't agree with it," he said.
While National received the most overall votes in the 2017 poll, it fell a few seats short of the outright majority needed to govern alone under New Zealand's proportional voting system.
Instead, the country's Labour, NZ First and Green parties brokered a deal to form a government between them and left National in the opposition benches.
Mr Howard's comments did not go down well with Kiwi deputy prime minister Winston Peters - who has in recent weeks called for Australia to change its flag and accused it of breaching UN conventions.
"We don't really get very enthusiastic when people come over from overseas and start telling us how to run our country and how to run our democracy - which I might add has some very fine features to it superior to that of Australia," he told reporters in Wellington.
"To say it's unjust and unfair without being able to particularise and itemise that is rather a lazy, idle comment."
Mr Peters then drew a parallel to Russian meddling in United States elections.
"It begs the question: Why are you blaming the Russians for the American campaign in 2016 if foreign interference is not a matter of importance?", he said.
"Everyone is dancing up and down about that, and yet someone who is a four-time prime minister from Australia is here criticising the make-up of this government."
The comments come amid rising tension between politicians across the Tasman as New Zealand's government continues to criticised Australia's deportation of hundreds of Kiwis on character grounds.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little have both waded into the debate in recent weeks.
Mr Peters has, meanwhile, also repeatedly called for Australia to change its 116-year-old flag, saying it's a copy of the New Zealand ensign and creates confusion.
He told reporters on Monday those comments weren't interference, but "candour".
Both Mr Howard and former NZ prime minister Sir John Key were invited to the National conference to help rally the troops behind current leader Simon Bridges, who is struggling in the polls.
Mr Bridges described Mr Howard as a "role model" but disagreed New Zealand's political system was broken.
