Anthony Albanese says New Zealand leader’s attacks as prime minister have not damaged relations across the Tasmania.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has been criticised for making a joke denigrating Australians’ intelligence during question time in Parliament.
Mr Luxon said on Wednesday: “In my dealings with Australians it always pays to be incredibly simple.”
The comment came in response to a question from New Zealand opposition leader Chris Hipkins about the government’s use of the Maori language, known as te reo Maori.
Despite the joke, Mr Albanese said it had not damaged ties with his New Zealand counterpart.
“Christopher Luxon is a friend of mine, but I often think that even though we both speak English, sometimes we need interpreters with New Zealand accents. From time to time, we miss things,” the prime minister told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
“We are great friends and great companions. Sometimes, however, we speak a different language and that’s when we both think we’re speaking English.”
New Zealand’s Prime Minister will travel to Australia next Thursday for a two-day visit.
Anthony Albanese has played down a verbal criticism of Australians made by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon.
Anthony Albanese and Chris Luxon
Mr Luxon’s comments came after New Zealand’s Culture Minister Paul Goldsmith ordered officials to remove several te reo expressions from an invitation to Matariki, the annual Maori New Year celebrations.
The invitation was intended for Tony Burke, Australia’s Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
Māori words included the greeting “tena koe” (meaning hello), the farewell “naku noa, na” (which became “yours faithfully”), and the dropping of the widely accepted Māori name for New Zealand: Aotearoa.
Te Reo is an official language of New Zealand, alongside sign language and de facto English, and is increasingly spoken among Maori after decades of decline, partly due to hostile government policies.
Mr Luxon’s right-leaning coalition (comprising the conservative National Party, the free-market libertarian ACT and populist NZ First parties) has scaled back its use in government since taking office last November.
The government has issued edicts to civil servants to stop communicating in te reo, and asked government departments to change their branding to English names, removing or deprioritising Māori names that were given more prominence under Jacinda Ardern.
Mr Goldmsith’s instruction to remove Maori greetings, which are common in New Zealand, drew criticism from the Labour Party, particularly as it concerned correspondence relating to Matariki, New Zealand’s only indigenous public holiday.
Mr Goldsmith said he did not think Mr Burke knew what Aotearoa meant.
“It’s not exactly the scandal of the century. I just didn’t think it needed a lot of drama… I thought, let’s keep it simple,” he said.
In Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Hipkins included Mr Goldsmith’s letter in a series of questions to Mr Luxon about ministerial standards.
“Well, I would just like to say to that member that we value te reo in this government,” Luxon said.
Mr Luxon is no stranger to Australia, having lived in Sydney for five years during his corporate career at Unilever.
“I love Australia,” she told AAP in a 2022 interview.
“If I couldn’t be a New Zealander, I’d be an Australian. Of course. I love the confidence and optimism that the place exudes.”