Scott Morrison, Jacinda Ardern to discuss Covid travel, China at meeting

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern will meet for the first time in over 12 months.

Australia will push New Zealand to “reinforce” joint efforts to ensure a “free and independent Indo-Pacific” during high-level leaders’ talks amid increasingly antagonistic behaviour from China.

Quarantine-free travel to other Pacific nations including Vanuatu and Fiji is also a “real possibility”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed ahead of his formal meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday.

Mr Morrison said the talks would be an “opportunity” to work through a number of issues, including how the two countries can work together on issues concerning China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison receiving a traditional "hongi" greeting from New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Picture: AFP

“There are the regional security issues for a free and open Indo-Pacific, we’re Five Eyes partners, we’re part of ANZUS, we’ve been alongside each other in favouring a world that favours freedom for a very long time,” he said.

An apparent softening on China in several public comments by New Zealand government officials has caused frustrations in the trans-Tasman relationship as Beijing has grown increasingly antagonistic towards Australia.

Last year, New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said both Australia and China needed to “concede in some areas where they are currently not seeing eye-to-eye”.

New Zealand’s Trade Minister Damien O’Connor later suggested Australia speak with more “respect” towards China. Mr O’Connor has since confirmed New Zealand will back Australia in its ongoing trade dispute with China over tariffs imposed on barley in 2020.

Ms Ardern on Sunday said Australia was like “family” to New Zealand, saying: “In this increasingly complex geostrategic environment, family is incredibly important, and Australia, you are our family, and so I can’t imagine a more important time for us to just continue building the strength of those ties.”

But Ms Ardern was clear there would be issues the two nations did not agree on.

“As much as two sovereign nations, we won’t always see every issue in the same way and we often will see and do things differently, and not just on the cricket pitch,” she said.

Ms Ardern also said she was looking forward to working on how to “capitalise” on the flow of movement of people between Australia and New Zealand now the trans-Tasman bubble was open.

When the pair meet for a formal dialogue on Monday it is also expected they will discuss expanding this quarantine-free travel arrangement to other nations in the region.

“We are supporting our Pacific family and the idea of a bubble that goes beyond New Zealand and Australia is a real possibility,” Mr Morrison said.

He highlighted Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Timor Leste as countries Australia was working closely with. Australia has been assisting Fiji with its latest Covid-19 outbreak, with Mr Morrison acknowledging the country was “going through a difficult time”.

Ms Ardern and Mr Morrison last met in February 2020 in Sydney, mere weeks before the world shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They have since overseen two of the most effective responses to the virus in the world.

Originally published as Scott Morrison, Jacinda Ardern to discuss Covid travel, China at meeting