Jacinda Ardern touches down in Sydney for crunch talks with Scott Morrison

Jacinda Ardern has touched down in Sydney for her annual bilateral meeting with her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison. 

The two leaders will sit down together on Friday to discuss trans-Tasman policies, following an eventful and tumultuous year for both nations.

Ms Ardern and Mr Morrison have been known to sit on opposite sides of the political tracks, come from different generations and have very different leadership styles.

However, the two have managed to forged a strong relationship befitting the two countries’ recent history and long-held values.

It’s a relationship that, until now, has been sculpted in tragedy and hardship.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern touched down in Sydney ahead of her annual meeting with her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison 

Ms Ardern was met by Gerard Martin, representing the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as she arrived in Sydney on Thursday

Ms Ardern was met by Gerard Martin, representing the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as she arrived in Sydney on Thursday

Ms Arden will spend two days in Sydney and will also meet NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Governor-General David Hurley before returning to Aotearoa on Friday night

Ms Arden will spend two days in Sydney and will also meet NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Governor-General David Hurley before returning to Aotearoa on Friday night

‘The last 12 months has, if nothing else, demonstrated just how close New Zealand and Australia are,’ Ms Ardern said.

‘Whether it’s the fires in Australia, and the hundreds of personnel that have gone from New Zealand to Australia to support them and their efforts.’

‘Or Whakaari White Island, or coronavirus, we’ve had plenty of examples in the last 12 months where we have been extraordinarily close together.’

Most recently, there has been collaboration during the Covid-19 crisis, with New Zealanders and Australians sharing space on each others’ mercy flights from the troubled Chinese region.

Ms Ardern could have also added to her list the Christchurch mosque shootings of March 15 last year, given collaboration with Australian police and experts in the aftermath of the attack.

The pair will have plenty to reflect on when they meet in Sydney on Friday for the annual meeting of prime ministers.

‘Of all of the leaders that I work with, differently, Prime Minister Morrison is the one that I speak with the most,’ Ms Ardern said.

Ms Ardern said the last 12 months have shown how 'close New Zealand and Australia are'. Pictured: Ms Ardern and Scott Morrison at Government House February 2019

Ms Ardern said the last 12 months have shown how ‘close New Zealand and Australia are’. Pictured: Ms Ardern and Scott Morrison at Government House February 2019 

‘I’ve had officials joke that they no longer think they need to do the work themselves because we often just resolve things directly together.

‘It would be fair to say actually the very things that draw communities closer together are the things that often draw countries close together as well.

‘We’re countries that lean on one another in times of need.

‘That is an incredibly important relationship and having that ability, I think it’s meant we’ve been able to troubleshoot things very quickly.’

Jacinda Ardern won hearts across the globe for her support of victims of the mosque terror attacks in Christchurch. Pictured with a mosque-goer after the attack wearing a hijab

Jacinda Ardern won hearts across the globe for her support of victims of the mosque terror attacks in Christchurch. Pictured with a mosque-goer after the attack wearing a hijab

That doesn’t eliminate the differences.

In the Pacific, New Zealand is held up as a great ally on climate issues; Australia is lambasted for worshipping fossil fuels.

The divide is such that Ms Ardern, who has enshrined into law a pathway to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, says she won’t bother to raise the issue in Sydney.

She has pledged to discuss the ‘corrosive’ issue of deportations, which has seen hundreds of New Zealanders – some with very few links to the country – deported from Australia after committing serious crimes.

Australia has been unrelenting in its stance, and New Zealand is realistic on whether any concessions might be made.

There will also be discussions about commerce, with Ms Ardern referring to ‘what we can do at our borders to make it easier for our businesses to move between each other’.

She has been praised internationally for being respectful and a great role model for women (pictured during a trip to Fiji)

She has been praised internationally for being respectful and a great role model for women (pictured during a trip to Fiji)

In a side meeting, Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt and Maori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta will also sign a groundbreaking collaboration agreement on indigenous issues.

Ms Ardern will also meet NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Governor-General David Hurley before returning to Aotearoa on Friday night. 

Her visit comes as she prepares to get into election mode at home – where she’s found herself under fire for failing to deliver on her promises.

As New Zealand prepares to take to the polls on September 19, many locals are upset at her for failing to keep her promises in a number of key policy areas. 

During her stint as prime minister, Ms Ardern developed a prominent and sympathetic international profile, both as a young mother in the country’s top job, and for her response to the Christchurch massacre and the White Island volcano tragedy.

Australian National Univer­sity professor John Wanna said the PM is ‘regarded as a bit of a show pony who is not delivering,’ among her constituents.

Issues include the failed KiwiBuild Project, planting one billion trees to tackle climate change, reducing child poverty, free GP visits, and her backtracking on the capital gains tax. 

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