Opening remarks, AUS-NZ Annual Leaders' Meeting

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, Prime Minister, welcome to you and your delegation. This is your third visit to Australia since your election as Prime Minister, but you and I have known each other for a very long time, and as we commented walking here to this room, we are probably the two leaders of nations around the world who are most ably to be called aviation nerds, and I look forward to a positive discussion today. Our relationship, our economic relationship, has never been firmer. There are real opportunities that are coming as well for Australia, with our Future Made in Australia plan that is about the transition to net-zero and for cooperation in that area. Importantly as well, our national security relationship is so strong, further cooperation, interoperability. The exchange that we're having between senior defence personnel working in each other's Defence Forces, is really important so that we get that people-to-people understanding of the way that our Defence Forces can further cooperate in the region, particularly given the international climate that we're in with strategic competition in the region. You and I have spoken before about the Pacific Island Forum and the important role that we can play in providing leadership in the region. We have the Pacific Island Forum coming up in just a couple of weeks, and that will be an important opportunity for us to engage with our neighbours about climate change, about economic development, about security and the need for the Pacific family to look after security in the region. We're great friends. As partners, we have now seen some 60,000 Kiwis take advantage of the changes that my Government have made to have the path to Australian citizenship. More than 30,000 have concluded that process and that's a very good thing as well, as a result of the reform that my Government introduced just a short time ago. And lastly, could I congratulate you. I mean, we think we've done pretty well at the Olympics, and we did. Our most successful ever with 18 gold medals. For a country of New Zealand's population to win ten gold medals is quite an extraordinary performance. You're a great sporting nation, and our relationship is so strong on the sporting fields. That rivalry that's there. Our rivalry in rugby usually goes one particular way. But our rivalry in other ways as well, cements our friendships, really, and the Wahs aren't quite having the season that they had last year, but neither have my Rabbitohs so I'm not in the position to try rub anything in there. But I think that relationship that we have is just going from strength to strength, and I really look forward to today's discussion being another advance of that. And can I thank you as well from, apart from these formal gatherings that we have, you and I speak regularly. We engage regularly through our devices, and we work together to send common messages on issues including what is happening in the Middle East and calling for peace and security, which is so important for the world. So thank you, and you are so welcome here.

RT HON CHRISTOPHER LUXON MP, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: Well, Prime Minister, can I just say thank you so much for the hospitality and for the welcome. What we've just experienced out there on the Forecourt was absolutely amazing, and it's incredibly special when you look down that long road to the War Memorial, it's pretty special. And can I just say thank you to you personally for a very warm welcome. Thank you for the personal friendship as well. There is no more important relationship to New Zealand than Australia. And that's why, under my Government, I want to continue to deepen our relationship even further. It's in great heart. It's in a great position, great standing, and there's even more that we want to do together as a result. It's been good to see - I think I've had 12, over half my Cabinet here in the last six months. We've got another four ministers coming in the next two months. We've had our Two by Two meetings with Finance Ministers and Climate Change Ministers but also our Foreign Ministers and our Defence Ministers as well, and so that joining together and that alignment I think in a world that we see out there together with our vital friendships and vital partnerships. Looking forward to our conversation today. It is my third time formally here. Obviously, I've appreciated our constant dialogue since I've become Prime Minister, but to be here at our first formal Leaders' Meeting is very special, and we've got a lot to talk about. We obviously want to talk about security and defence and continuing the work of interoperability and alignment on the New Zealand side as we do our Defence Capability Review. As you have highlighted, we've got a lot of work to do together in the Pacific with our Pacific Island colleagues and friends and leaders. And as we go to PIF we want to reinforce the centrality of Pacific Island Forum where we actually have Pacific solutions to Pacific challenges, and reinforce that centrality. And of course, on the economic front, we've made tremendous progress, and so we're working hard on scraping the barnacles off the bottom of the boat and making sure that there can more harmonisation through our close working together economically so it's just much more frictionless and more seamless for our businesses to do Trans-Tasman trade with each other. Of course, on the people-to-people front I again, just personally want to thank you, because I know personally having drove that citizenship for Kiwis that have been here, there's about 60,000 applicants now, which is absolutely fantastic. And we really appreciate you personally investing and making sure that pathway and that route is available to people. So I appreciate that and I also appreciate the acknowledgement that New Zealand won the Olympics. I thought you had some outstanding performances from Australian athletes, they were phenomenal. But it's good to know that New Zealand outperformed Australia. Thank you very much.