The National Party says a chaotic Government is getting more divided all the time with the latest schism over tax policy

The National Party has renewed its attacks on the Government, saying it is more divided than ever. 

And a political analyst says the Government might not be in disarray, but "there is an awful lot of scrambling going on."

The latest wrangle, following the departure of several Ministers, involves public disagreement on tax policy within the cabinet. Veteran Labour MP David Parker has refused to serve any longer as Revenue Minister.   

Parker took the opportunity to step aside from that role when cabinet was reshuffled in the wake of Kiri Allan's arrest. He later told reporters that holding the revenue position was untenable.    

Parker has been in parliament for more than 20 years and is one of the few current leaders to serve as a cabinet minister within two separate Labour administrations. More significantly, he has pushed his role as Revenue Minister by working hard on tax reform. 

Parker commissioned a report by the IRD on taxes paid by the rich, and he was in favour of a so-called tax switch. This would have provided a tax-free rate for very low incomes, which would have been paid for with a special tax on people with high net wealth.   

But this idea and a capital gains tax were blocked by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins earlier this month, because he said economic conditions were hard for many people and now was not the right time. 

Parker is understood to have felt undercut by this announcement, in part because it undermined months of hard work on this subject, and in part because he disagreed with the policy anyway.  

It is that which led to his "untenable" comment, though he was at pains to stress his loyalty to the party all the same. 

Speaking to reporters, Hipkins also played down the significance of the rift with Parker, who in turn told reporters he had not broken any cabinet rules by speaking about his feelings in public.  

The National Party leader Christopher Luxon then climbed into this row, saying Parker clearly had no confidence in his own leader, and this was yet another sign of a chaotic Government.   

Luxon agreed, however, that abandonment of a capital gains tax was a good thing. 

Meanwhile the political commentator Ben Thomas says the Government is clearly not looking good, with "this constant game of musical chairs.

"But is it in disarray?  There is certainly a lot of scrambling going on, just to cover the normal business of Government.

"There are two separate things, right? There is the presentational aspect in terms of public perception, which is obviously quite untidy.

"Then there is the business of Government. There is a big slab of legislation that they want to pass before parliament lifts, and that requires a lot of ministerial intensity."

"There would be a lot scrambling, a lot of late-night briefing going on right now, and not on minor things."

"David Parker has had an enormous load of responsibility within this Government and there will be a lot of work needed to get on top of these portfolios," says Thomas.