New Zealand's prime minister appears to have taken a swipe at the intelligence of Australians in a joke during question time in parliament. Christopher Luxon said 'in my dealings with Australians it always pays to be incredibly simple'. The comment came in response to questioning from the Labour opposition leader, Chris Hipkins, over the government's use of the Maori language, known as te reo Maori. This week the broadcasters TVNZ revealed that the culture minister, Paul Goldsmith, had instructed officials to remove several te reo expressions from an invitation for Matariki, the annual celebrations of the Māori new year. The invitation was bound for Tony Burke, Australia’s minister for multicultural affairs

Source: The Guardian August 08, 2024 13:18 UTC