First trip to Australia as PM

Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull

Jacinda Ardern
Jacinda Ardern
Jacinda Ardern's first trip as Prime Minister will be across the ditch to meet Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.

The Labour leader, who formed a coalition government with NZ First and the Green parties earlier this month, will meet Turnbull on Sunday in Sydney before returning to Wellington later in the day.

"Australia and New Zealand are not just mates, we are family," Turnbull said in a statement today.

"I look forward to congratulating Prime Minister Ardern on her recent election and discussing how we can further strengthen the already close friendship between our nations."

The pair were expected to discuss trade and defence ties ahead of the upcoming APEC and East Asia Summits.

"The Trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand's most important. Our economies are among the most integrated in the world with strong trade, people and investment flows," Ardern said.

"I'm looking forward to this early opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Turnbull and to establishing a close working relationship."

The pair earlier this month had their first phone conversation, with Ardern describing it "incredibly warm and friendly", dispelling fears of a potential diplomatic rift with Australia.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in August suggested she would find it hard to trust a Labour government in Wellington after accusing the party of interfering in Australian former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce's citizenship saga.

Joyce has since renounced his New Zealand citizenship.

Bishop later said she had accepted Ardern's explanation and both parties had moved on.

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