New Zealand and Australia trade barbs over accent and language in row over Māori words

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The removal of basic Māori phrases meaning “hello” and “New Zealand” from a Māori lunar new year invitation to an Australian official was not a snub of the Indigenous language by New Zealand’s government, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Wednesday, seemingly joking that it instead reflected the “incredibly simple” language required when speaking to Australians.

Luxon’s defense in Parliament of the lawmaker who ordered the removal of the Māori words from...