Chris Hipkins to fly to Australia, meet with PM Anthony Albanese

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will fly to Australia next week. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will make his first overseas trip as prime minister next week, flying to Canberra to meet his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

Hipkins said the “trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia.

“Prime Minister Albanese was the first international leader I spoke with after becoming Prime Minister, and I look forward to continuing our discussion in person on how we can further work together to secure our economies against the global economic challenges we all face,” he said.

He said he would talk “economic issues” as well as New Zealand and Australia’s “many shared security priorities within the bilateral relationship, and for our engagement in the Pacific and wider Indo-Pacific regions.

“Our meeting will also mark the start of a significant year in our bilateral relationship which we will celebrate several milestones – including 40 years of our Closer Economic Relations Agreement, 50 years of the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, and 80 years since the establishment of our two High Commissions,” he said.

Hipkins will travel to Canberra on February 7, but will only spend a few hours on the ground, flying back to New Zealand later the same day.

New Zealand prime ministers have typically tried to establish an early, strong relationship with their Australian counterparts.

Hipkins’ predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, was the first foreign leader to visit Australia after Albanese became Prime Minister last year. She visited him in Sydney in June 2022.

There is plenty on the agenda for Hipkins’ meeting with Albanese - particularly deportations and pathways to citizenship.

Albanese, who leads Labour’s sister party, Australian Labor, has reset relations with New Zealand after they reached a low point under his predecessor Scott Morrison.

The Australian Government is relooking at the way it applies its 501 deportation policy, under which waves of people with criminal records have been sent to New Zealand.

The extent of a reset on that policy is unclear. Albanese has said the policy itself will remain.

He paid tribute to Ardern in a tweet, after she announced she would resign.

“Jacinda Ardern has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength.

“She has demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities.

“Jacinda has been a fierce advocate for New Zealand, an inspiration to so many and a great friend to me,” Albanese wrote.