New Zealand's finance minister, Nicola Willis, in May said Australians should invest and move across the ditch to avoid Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's contentious capital gains tax.
Mr Albanese, in Noosa for an annual two-day meeting to discuss trade, defence and foreign affairs with Kiwi counterpart Christopher Luxon, was asked about the migration call.
In response, Mr Albanese referenced a NSW rugby league player who plays for the New Zealand Warriors, affectionately known as "the Wahs", in the NRL.
"What next? The Wahs signing another Jackson Ford?," he said at a press conference with Mr Luxon on Saturday.
"We have a few Kiwis in Australia too. 638,000 of them.
"One in eight New Zealanders live here. Why? Because it's a good place to live. Just like Australians will continue to enjoy living in New Zealand.
"Occasionally there's a bit of cheekiness to the relationship. Long may that continue."
Mr Luxon played with a similar bat, but said it was important the two countries didn't comment on each others' economic policies.
Mr Luxon's coalition government is campaigning against NZ Labour's plans for a capital gains tax.
Comments by Ms Willis were in the context of that debate, he said.
"It's no secret within the New Zealand domestic context there's been a long running debate now for over 10 years about the merits of introducing a CGT (capital gains tax) or not," he said.
"We don't think that's appropriate for New Zealand and we feel pretty strongly about it.
"We've got a recovery underway and we think a CGT being introduced to New Zealand now ... would be a wrecking ball through our economy."
Labor's tax reforms, including a minimum 30 per cent tax on capital gains and a $250 a year tax offset for workers, passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.
But the laws face an uncertain future, with the Greens yet to indicate if they will back the measures in the upper house.
"I'm very relaxed about what people say, tongue-in-cheek, overseas," Mr Albanese said.
"I doubt whether anyone took it any more seriously than I did. That's the way that I took the comments. That's the nature of the banter that occurs."
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