Destiny Church leaps to Donald Trump's defence

Peter Dunne has prompted Brian Tamaki to lash out, as it turns out he is an avid supporter of President Trump. Photos / AP / File

United Future leader Peter Dunne has been blasted as a "rat" by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki, who gives his blessing to US President Donald Trump.

Dunne wrote an open letter to US President Donald Trump earlier this week, warning that the next generation will be the one to pay the price for Trump's "Orwellian double speak".

That's prompted Tamaki to lash out, as it turns out he is an avid supporter of President Trump.

Taking to Facebook, Tamaki wrote: "Its time for this "rat" Peter Dunne to be turfed out of Parliament [sic].

"He's a weak..pathetic specimen of a man..this sort of gutless politician is rife in our NZ politics and is responsible for a lethargic depressing kind of politics for sometime.

"President Donald Trump is the closest thing of seen to a "True Politician" and "Leader" for a very long time [sic].

"Can only pray to God NZ would get one like him one day."

When contacted by the Herald, Dunne wasn't aware of the Facebook post, and said he wasn't worried by it.

"Look, if I was going to put my credibility on the line against Brian Tamaki's, I know who would win every time.

"This says everything about Mr Tamaki, nothing about me.

"I'm not going to dignify his diatribe with any more comment than that. People will make their own judgement, and I'm comfortable with that."

Tamaki has not returned calls for comment.

In November, Tamaki famously blamed earthquakes on gays, sinners, and murderers.

Quoting the Old Testament on the day before the massive 7.5 Kaikoura earthquake which killed two and left thousands stranded, with limited food, water, shelter and communication, Tamaki told churchgoers the earth "convulses under the weight of certain human sin."

He also blamed a gay priest and the people of Christchurch for the devastating earthquakes that hit Canterbury in 2010 and 2011 which killed 185 people.

"The land actually speaks to God. Out of the soil ... Abel's blood spoke to God from a murder. The earth can speak. Leviticus says that the earth convulses under the weight of certain human sin.

"It spews itself up after a while - that's natural disasters. Because nature was never created to carry the bondage of our iniquity."

A month later, a fourth book was released in Tamaki's set, Revelatory Notes by Bishop Brian Tamaki. It contained warnings about fictional wizard Harry Potter as well as observations about the obese and unemployed, and claims about sexually-transmitted diseases.

According to Tamaki, Harry Potter is a tool to recruit people toward evil.

Sex is also raised by Tamaki, penning: "Sexually transmitted diseases would not exist if people did not have sex before marriage and remained faithful to their own spouse."

Tamaki also questioned New Zealand's obesity problem and why so many unemployed people were overweight, saying those who claimed state benefits should be "skinny".