New Aussie PMvisits
New Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will make his first visit to New Zealand this week.
It will be Prime Minister John Key’s first official bilateral meeting with Turnbull as his counterpart since the Australian Liberal Party leader ousted Tony Abbott nearly a month ago.
Turnbull and a delegation will arrive in Auckland on Friday afternoon ahead of meetings with both Key and Labour leader Andrew Little on Saturday.
‘‘I am delighted to host Prime Minister Turnbull in his first overseas visit as the new prime minister of Australia,’’ Key said. ‘‘I was in contact with Mr Turnbull while in New York last week [two weeks ago] and look forward to broadening our discussions and cementing the relationship in New Zealand.’’
Key has just returned from a top-secret mission visiting New Zealand and Australian troops in Iraq.
The trip and conditions Anzac forces face in Iraq are likely to be discussed by the pair.
It is also expected that Key will raise the issue of expat-New Zealanders with criminal convictions being held in Australian detention camps.
Forty New Zealanders are being held in the Christmas Island immigration detention centre and are facing deportation.
Nearly 200 New Zealanders are in immigration detention in Australia.
Key said he expected to discuss a range of political, economic, social and security issues with Turnbull.