National Party leader Simon Bridges says the Government should have acted more like Scott Morrison when it came to dealing with Turkey.

The Government has come under fire after Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters flew to Turkey, supposedly to confront President Recep Erdogan after he showed footage from the Christchurch massacre during political rallies.

However, Peters says he did not raise the subject with Erdogan at all. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday defended the trip, saying that Peters had gone to address multiple matters but also made the country's thoughts about the video very clear. 

Bridges says that Erdogan was saying some highly inflammatory things, and that Peters was meant to have gone there to confront them.

"The Prime Minister said that's what he would do, and he didn't do that, and now they are making excuses."

He praised the actions of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had been outspoken in his outrage over the video being played. 

"He showed leadership on that. We're seeing an apologism on what happened there." 

Bridges says that the country has been unified on the Christchurch shootings, but now we are coming to the point where hard questions need to be asked. 

Peters has also been criticised for appearing to fall asleep during the meeting, which follows earlier photographs of him apparently dozing during select committee meetings. 

Bridges says that he was at some of those meetings, and does not believe Peter's excuse of "deep contemplation". 

"Let me put it this way. He wasn’t awake."