Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop went on a media blitz yesterday to argue that Ms Bryce should not be acting as a diplomatic agent for the Federal Labor Government by embarking on a 20-day, nine-nation African tour to build support for Australia's Security Council candidacy.

''The Governor-General as head of state can represent Australia overseas and can play a role in promoting Australia's interests,'' Ms Bishop said.

''However, the mission the Governor-General is undertaking to lobby other countries for Australia to get one of the revolving seats on the Security Council would normally be done by government ministers.

''And, in this case, Australia's campaign is becoming highly politically contentious and the Opposition is increasingly concerned at the strategy Mr Rudd is adopting to win this seat.

''We are concerned that the office of Governor-General will be caught up in what will become a highly contentious international issue.

''The strategy should not be to win a seat at any cost, either financially or by compromising our principles''

Ms Bishop highlighted a number of decisions as evidence that the Government's efforts to secure support from Middle Eastern and African countries were undercutting Australia's long-standing support for Israel and leading to a weaker human rights stance in relation to countries like Zimbabwe.

Her concerns included Australia's planned attendance at the United Nations Durban II conference on racism despite the withdrawal of the United States, Canada and Italy and the likelihood that the conference would be used as a platform for an anti-Israel agenda.

Ms Bishop also noted that neither Foreign Minister Stephen Smith nor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had themselves commented on the International Criminal Court's decision to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.