KEY POINTS:
Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen this morning said he thought a spat with Australia over the troops' flights fracas would be short-lived.
However, he then went on to attack Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer over apple imports while Defence Minister Phil Goff said Mr Downer had over-reacted to comments about internal New Zealand politics.
Both ministers appeared to paint the problem being with Mr Downer, rather than his wider government.
Yesterday Prime Minister Helen Clark criticised his attendance at a National Party conference earlier in the month and warned against getting into another country's politics.
Dr Cullen brought up the transtasman row over New Zealand apple restrictions, saying Mr Downer was against imports because of his electorate's interests.
Mr Goff said Mr Downer had got the "wrong end of the stick" and over-reacted by seeing New Zealand's reaction to Air NZ Flying Australian troops to Kuwait as unfriendly.
"I've known Alexander as a colleague and a friend for a very long time. Sometimes he goes off the deep end a little, I think he did on that occasion," Mr Goff told reporters.
"In this instance he is wrong, this issue was not about Australia, was never about Australia and shouldn't have been taken by him as in any way reflecting on Australia.
"I think his comment shows an over-reaction in that respect."
But he added: "This is something which is going to go away very quickly I'm quite sure - it's not going to affect the longer term relationship between Australia and New Zealand."
Dr Cullen also emphasised there had been no criticism of Australia but accepted Australia may have felt slighted. "In that case they could have picked up the phone and talked to us," he said.
Asked about Mr Downer's "unfriendly" comment, Dr Cullen said: "Mr Downer has his own way with words. It's also true Mr Downer represents an apple growing electorate and has been one of the main people keeping New Zealand out of the Australian market."
However, he did not think the issue would affect the two countries' relationship seriously.
National leader John Key has called for calm while his foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully said Government ministers' comments had caused offence and their tone suggested "Australians were some new form of untouchable and there was always going to be a response to that".
- NZPA
