I am delighted to welcome New Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Jacinda Ardern, to Australia and to meet with her in Sydney today.

Australia and New Zealand share a uniquely close relationship. It is a relationship of whanau—of family. That’s why it’s fitting that Prime Minister Ardern is the first foreign leader I’ve met with as Prime Minister on Australian soil.

We are countries with common culture and values, shared interests and outlooks.

The Prime Minister and I both know that trade and integration mean jobs, growth and opportunities. We are determined to work together to take the trans-Tasman economic relationship to new heights.

Next year, we will celebrate 80 years of diplomatic relations, and 40 years of our ground-breaking Closer Economic Relations trade agreement—one the most comprehensive trade agreements in the world.

Australia and New Zealand are proud Pacific nations and we value our relationships with our Pacific partners very deeply. We will work side-by-side with our Pacific brothers and sisters. We are committed to deepening our partnerships in support of a stable and prosperous region.

Together, Australia and New Zealand face the global challenges of a changing climate, economic uncertainty and shifting dynamics in global security. And together, we can work towards solutions to these challenges, including realising a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister Ardern and I discussed climate change and the ambitious action my Government will take. We will reduce Australia’s emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and ensure we are firmly on track for Net Zero by 2050.

Like New Zealand, we intend to legislate our Net Zero target. We will also submit an updated new Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) soon.

I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Ardern to ensure the continued success of our Trans-Tasman relationship.