Important for Australia and NZ to ‘advance things’ in both countries ‘interests’: NZ PM

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it is important for Australia and New Zealand to “advance things” which are in both countries’ “interests”. Mr Luxon has previously said his number one priority is his relationship with Australia. “What I’m wanting to do with Australia is three things,” Mr Luxon told Sky News host Erin Molan. “To make sure that our security and defence connections are deepened – that means that we want to increasingly be a force multiplier and want to be much more interoperable in the defence space with the Australians. “The second thing is we partner with the Pacific Island nations a lot … it’s our backyard, it’s our family, and it’s important that we work together constructively with our Pacific Island partners as well. “Then thirdly, it’s around saying, look, there is a big ... common economic market between the two of us, and there’s probably opportunities for us to reframe that and actually look for more economic opportunities as well. “So, a good personal relationship [with Anthony Albanese], important that we can get on with each other at a personal level, but importantly advance things that are in both Australia and New Zealand’s interests.”