It's a tale as old as time: Australia and Aotearoa's legendary rivalry.
Just like any 'big bro, little bro' relationship, there's often gentle bullying, plenty of competition and yes, stealing each other's stuff: pavlova, Russell Crowe, Stan Walker, Split Enz, Phar Lap, and ANZAC biscuits, to name a few.
While it's almost impossible to quantify which country is ultimately 'better', Kiwis and Aussies alike continue to give it a good crack: including one New Zealand podcaster, who recently sparked heated debate after attempting to justify why Aotearoa is a better nation in several categories.
Radio host and producer Luisa Dal Din, who runs the podcast We Mean Well with her co-host Jack Archdale, is originally from New Zealand but currently lives and works in Sydney. During a guest appearance on last week's episode of the popular podcast The Inspired Unemployed, she and Archdale playfully butted heads over which country was home to the best beaches - and hottest people - Down Under.
"When I moved over from New Zealand, I noticed everyone in New Zealand is so much friendlier," Dal Din began.
"Also, the scenery - have you seen Queenstown and Wānaka? Beautiful greenery, really good grass. Have you seen the grass in New Zealand? It is very green," she went on, sparking raucous laughter from the hosts.
She added that New Zealand has a number of iconic figures, citing musicians Ben Lummis and Dave Dobbyn - both of whom were unknown to her fellow podcasters.
Aussie Archdale refuted Dal Din's argument, claiming that aside from Lord of the Rings, Aotearoa has nothing on its bigger cousin from across the ditch.
"Allow me to rebut a few points - you've got Lord of the Rings, that's it. One of your arguments was, 'you've got green grass' - hey, kid, we've got lawns over here as well," Archdale hit back as Din Dal and The Inspired Unemployed hosts, Matt Ford and Jack Steele, dissolved into laughter.
"You said the beaches are good, oh yeah, 'everyone loves to go on a beach big holiday to New Zealand, you wouldn't dare come to Australia for a beach holiday'," he went on sarcastically, before adding: "We have the best beaches in the world."
Archdale also argued there are generally more "hot" people in Australia than Aotearoa, claiming his homeland overall has more attractive locals.
But the debate didn't stop there, with the banter also spilling into the comments section of several clips shared on social media. A number of viewers sided with Dal Din and argued that the grass is literally "greener" in New Zealand, with one writing: "GRASS IS VALID. Moved over from Australia to NZ and grass is so soft - AND the Coromandels [sic] are so beautiful."
"All family members that move to Australia comment on how much they miss the grass back home. Lou is on to something," a fellow Kiwi offered, with another agreeing: "Aussie grass is rough and... faded to almost yellow, with an upkeep of watering every day, so VALID."
"New Zealand is so much better than Australia. The only thing Australia has better are the wages," a fourth added, while one commenter panned Aussie as "flat, boring and brown".
"Sorry but I too thought a beach holiday would be perfect in Aussie - mate, couldn't last 20 minutes, [I] had to go back to the hotel for some AC," another weighed in.
