KEY POINTS:
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit Auckland on August 19 to take part in a trans-Tasman climate change conference, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
It will be his first visit to New Zealand as prime minister.
Miss Clark went to Brisbane late last year for an informal meeting with Mr Rudd soon after the Australian general election.
"Since then, ministers across a range of economic and social portfolios from both countries have also held formal and informal bilateral talks as we build on the strong links between New Zealand and Australia," Miss Clark said in a statement.
Mr Rudd and Miss Clark will both speak at the climate change conference before holding talks.
"Our meeting will give us the chance to review bilateral, regional and international issues, including the bilateral trade and economic relationship, and the Pacific Islands Forum in Niue," Miss Clark said.
After their meeting both prime ministers will travel to Niue to attend the forum meeting.
Miss Clark said at her post-cabinet press conference today she would be looking for unity within the forum to maintain a proactive approach to the situation in Fiji.
She said she wanted to keep Pacific Island leaders focused "on the blight that Fiji's present position casts over the South Pacific".
Miss Clark said the forum meeting would have a report from the group of foreign ministers who visited Suva last month.
The report would contain recommendations for the leaders.
Miss Clark said she did not know of any reason why Fiji's self-appointed prime minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama would not be at the meeting.
"It may be that he should be facing the people he gave commitments to last year, when he committed to holding elections by March 2009," she said.
"He has made public statements since the group visited Fiji that he never intended to have them, and that he intends changing electoral law before an election."
Miss Clark said the feedback she was getting was that Forum leaders were dismayed by those developments.
- NZPA
