New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says "life goes on" after a series of scandals have rocked Parliament, leading to resignations across the political sphere.
Yesterday, Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway was sacked from Cabinet after it was revealed he had an affair with a staffer from his office. He remains as an MP, but won't stand at the election.
It came after National MP Andrew Falloon resigned from Parliament entirely after allegedly sending unsolicited pornographic material to multiple women.
National leader Todd Muller quit a week earlier, triggering Judith Collins to take over as leader and the retirements of senior MPs Nikki Kaye and Amy Adams.
But the dramas in the political sphere are just a distraction from the upcoming election, Mr Jones and retiring National MP Paula Bennett said on Breakfast's political panel this morning.
Mr Jones says people shouldn't look for "piety" in the job.
"I'd caution against looking for too much devoutness in politics. The front bench is not a pulpit," he says.
"I'd also encourage New Zealanders to remember there's also two sides to the good book [the Bible], and one side is rehabilitation and redemption."
Mr Jones has been through his own share of scandal in his career.
While a Labour MP in 2010, he admitted using a Crown credit card to hire pornographic films while staying at hotels on ministerial business.
"Sadly, mine was self-inflicted," he says of the decade-old headlines.
"The people that have fallen and are being humiliated in the public, they need to remember that after the gale, life goes on."
Ms Bennett says these recent cases are also "self-inflicted", adding: "There are consequences for actions."
"I would hate that people do think this is reflective of their Parliament," she says.
"Because actually good men and women go there on a daily basis to do their best for the country. And we sometimes disagree on the path to do the best, but that's healthy and that's part of democracy.
"There are faults and, as we've seen, there are people that are making mistakes. But on the whole, people are trying to do the best job that they can."
Ms Bennett says the dramatics risk distracting from the upcoming general election, less than two months away.
"We've got some really big stuff that this country needs to be talking about and we're not. That's probably more distressing," she says.
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