Warm welcome for Aussie delegation in Queenstown
Mr Luxon is hosting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, along with his fiancee Jodie Haydon, in the South lsland resort today and tomorrow for the Australia New Zealand Leaders' Meeting.
It is the first time the meeting has been held in Queenstown since 2021, when former prime ministers Scott Morrison and Dame Jacinda Ardern had a tightly controlled and scheduled meeting, primarily due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Mr Luxon thanked Mr Albanese and others in the delegation for their visit, saying: "You are indeed special and great friends. In fact, you are not just friends - you are whanau, you are family."
"The world seems really uncertain and fractious and we have no greater friend than Australia. And as a result, the two of us being able to come together to advocate for our values ... and to go out into the world together is really important."
Mr Albanese was also welcomed to Queenstown by Ngai Tahu representatives including Sir Tipene O'Regan and Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou upoko Edward Ellison.
Bilateral talks were being held this afternoon.
Other engagements include a business roundtable with the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum.
It is the second time across the Tasman for Mr Albanese, who last visited in 2023 to meet with then-Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins.
Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have affirmed their nations share a "deep and enduring bond" as friends, neighbours and allies.
Defence, economic partnerships and security will be on the agenda, AAP reports.
"I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our single economic market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners," Mr Albanese said.
The single economic market was established in 2009 to grow trade and deepen investment links between the two countries, making it easier for trans-Tasman business.
Two-way trade between the two countries is worth $NZ35 billion.
Co-operation between the two governments is broad, with more than half of the New Zealand Cabinet visiting Australia since Mr Luxon's government took office in late 2023.
- Allied Media and AAP
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