National Party accepts Green Party offer of questions, but says it's not a sign of a new partnership

The Green Party has sacrificed the bulk of their questions in Question Time and handed them to National.

James Shaw says patsy questions from the Government benches are a waste of time and would rather see the questions used to hold the Government to account.

Labour disagrees with the Green Party's position, but National's leader Simon Bridges says they will gratefully accept the questions.

"National takes the offer seriously, we thank James Shaw and the Green Party for it, and National will honour the spirit of it by asking questions that matter, and doing so with a real seriousness and purpose," Bridges told Newstalk ZB this morning.

Bridges says it will help National do exactly what the Green Party hopes for: ensure Government accountability.

"We go up from I think the most questions that an opposition has had in history, to even more questions."

But Bridges says people should not to read too much into the move. Working with the Greens doesn't mean it's a new partnership, he said.

Shaw, meanwhile, told Newstalk ZB that patsy questions are embarrassing.

He says the offer was made to improve the quality of democracy.

He hopes National will use the questions on his party as well.