In short:

Anthony Albanese has shrugged off a comment from New Zealand's prime minister about the simplicity of Australians, saying it hadn't hurt their relationship. 

Chris Luxon had joked in parliament about needing to be "incredibly simple" when dealing with Australians. 

The joke came during a debate on the use of the Maori language, known as te reo, in New Zealand's government.

A prime ministerial sledge from New Zealand's leader has not dented relations across the Tasman, Anthony Albanese says.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has come under fire for making a joke denigrating the intelligence of Australians during question time in parliament.

Mr Luxon said on Wednesday "in my dealings with Australians it always pays to be incredibly simple".

The remark came in response to questioning from Labour Opposition Leader Chris Hipkins over the government's use of the Maori language, known as te reo Maori.

Despite the quip, Mr Albanese said it had not damaged ties with his Kiwi counterpart.

"Christopher Luxon is a friend of mine, but I often think that whilst we both speak English, sometimes we need interpreters with the Kiwi accent. 

"From time to time, things can be missed between us," the prime minister told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

"We're great friends and we're great mates. Sometimes though, we do speak a different language, and that's when we both think we're speaking English."

The comments from Mr Luxon came after New Zealand's Culture Minister Paul Goldsmith instructed officials to remove several te reo expressions from an invitation to Matariki, the annual celebrations of the Maori New Year.

The invitation was bound for Tony Burke, Australia's Multicultural Affairs minister.

The Maori words included the greeting "tena koe" (meaning hello), the sign-off "naku noa, na" (which became 'yours sincerely'), and the removal of the widely-accepted Maori name for New Zealand: Aotearoa.

Te reo is an official language of New Zealand, along with sign language and the de facto English, and increasingly spoken by Maori after decades of decline — in part due to hostile government policies.

Mr Luxon's right-leaning coalition — the conservative National party, free-market libertarians ACT and populist NZ First parties — has reduced its use in government since taking office last November.

The government has issued edicts to public servants to stop communicating in te reo, and asked government departments to rebadge with English names, scrapping or de-prioritising Maori names given more prominence during Jacinda Ardern's government.

Mr Goldsmith's instruction to remove the Maori greetings — which are commonplace in New Zealand — drew criticism from Labour, particularly given it was correspondence relating to Matariki, NZ's sole Indigenous public holiday.

Mr Goldsmith said he didn't think Mr Burke would know what Aotearoa meant.

"It's hardly the scandal of the century. I just didn't think it needed a lot of te reo in it … I thought, let's just keep it simple," he said.

In parliament on Wednesday, Mr Hipkins included Mr Goldsmith's letter in a line of questioning to Mr Luxon around ministerial standards.

"Well, I would just say to that member, we value te reo in this government," Mr Luxon said.

Mr Luxon is no stranger to Australia, living in Sydney for five years during his corporate career with Unilever.

"I love Australia," he told AAP in a 2022 interview.

"If I couldn't be a Kiwi I'd be an Aussie. Absolutely. I just love the confidence and optimism of the joint."