Jacindamania to hit Sydney, but Bishop a no-show

The Kiwi PM will visit this weekend, and says she’s keen to meet Malcolm Turnbull. But Julie Bishop will be elsewhere

New Zealand PM will visit Australia, but there is no mention of whether she will meet Julie Bishop.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit Australia on Sunday, less than a fortnight after her surprise rise to the top job.

The NZ Labour leader said yesterday she looked forward to meeting Malcolm Turnbull, but she won’t come face to face with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop who controversially said in August she might not be able to trust a New Zealand Labour government.

She will visit Sydney while Barnaby Joyce campaigns in the New England by-election which has been brought about after one of Ms Ardern’s Labour colleagues asked a question in New Zealand’s parliament that led to the revelation Mr Joyce was a dual citizen.

Ms Ardern said yesterday MP Chris Hipkins had no responsibility for Mr Joyce’s ineligibility.

She will spend one day in Sydney, leaving Auckland at 7am, local time, and arriving at Kirribilli House at 9.35am. The leaders will hold a press conference after their meeting and Ms Ardern will depart for the airport at 12.30pm.

Ms Bishop said yesterday she was busy on the weekend meeting other foreign dignitaries. “I will be in Perth; on Sunday I am the keynote speaker at the Asia Pacific Regional Conference,” Ms Bishop said. “I have a number of meetings with my counterpart foreign ministers, including the Foreign Minister of Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan, here on Sunday.”

Ms Ardern said yesterday Australia was the most important relationship for New Zealand.

“Our economies are among the most integrated in the world with strong trade, people and investment flows. And we are stronger together on the international stage,” Ms Ardern said. “I’m looking forward to this early opportunity to meet Prime Minister Turnbull and to establishing a close working relationship.”

Mr Turnbull said they would discuss further trade opportunities. “Australia and New Zealand are not just mates, we are family,” he said. “Our discussions will cover a wide range of topics, including the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam, the East Asia Summit in The Philippines and how we can work most effectively together with our South Pacific neighbours.”