New Zealand's new prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is heading for her first state visit to neighbouring Australia on Sunday, according to dpa. The Labour leader will travel to Sydney to establish a close working relationship with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, she said in a statement. "Our economies are among the most integrated in the world with strong trade, people and investment flows," Ardern added. The two leaders are planning to discuss the upcoming APEC and East Asia Summits, as well as other international issues. The relationship between the two countries has been somewhat rocky of late. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said before the election she would find it difficult to trust a Labour-led government after the revelation of the involvement of a New Zealand Labour MP in outing Australia's then deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce as a New Zealander by descent. She later said she accepted Ardern's explanation. Joyce was last week disqualified from office due to his dual citizenship status, which Australia's High Court ruled had made him ineligible to stand for election. Ardern, as well as Foreign Minister Winston Peters, admitted New Zealand's relationship the Australia needed some work. "I think we can't deny it that here we are in October 2017 and our relationship is not what it should be. I think the prime minister, the Labour Party, everyone in this coalition understands that," Peters said last week.
