New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters says he is "aghast" at the "inexcusable" turmoil in Australian political ranks which he attributes to "ego".
Mr Peters is in his third stint as New Zealand's top diplomat, having served in the governments of Helen Clark, Jacinda Ardern and, currently, Christopher Luxon.
Asked of his ties to newly-elected opposition leader Angus Taylor, the 80-year-old instead offered a critique of recent leadership battles that have consumed Australian politics.
"Can I just say, as an outsider, I'm aghast," he told AAP in Wellington.
"The years of stability, first of Hawke and then Howard, those years of civility have been very critical for Australia's success.
"The churn now really is inexcusable, and the churn both in the Labor and the Liberal Party, has been massive.
"In the end, you've got to stand back and say to those parties ... what is going on with you when you think that personal ego is the most important thing to elevation?"
Mr Taylor became the third leader of the Liberals in the last year when he won a ballot against Sussan Ley last week.
While Mr Peters included Labor in his broadside, the centre-left party has had just two leaders in 13 years: Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese.
The coalition's turnover in its foreign affairs spokesperson is even more pronounced, with five serving in the role since 2022: Marise Payne, Simon Birmingham, David Coleman, Michaelia Cash, and now, Ted O'Brien.
In contrast, Penny Wong has served as Labor's foreign affairs spokesperson in opposition and then government for almost a decade.
Mr Peters said the task of ensuring strong relations wasn't helped by political turnover.
"It makes your job harder because you keep on getting new leaders," he said, before joking he may not need to begin fresh relationship-building with Mr O'Brien.
"The way the polls are going, maybe not," he said.
Mr Peters is a mainstay of Kiwi politics, first elected to parliament in 1979 and founding the populist New Zealand First party in 1993.
He practices the model of leadership consistency he wants to see across the Tasman: leading his party for the 33 years since.
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