Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern have met for the first time as leaders of their respective countries, trading vinyl albums and having dinner together in Sydney.
The two heads of government met informally on Thursday night ahead of bilateral talks on Friday, with the Kiwi leader sharing a selfie with the Mr Albanese – and revealing the gifts she brought across the Tasman on social media.
“Just finished up a lovely dinner with the new Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese,” Ms Ardern posted on Facebook, detailing the wholesome exchange.
“He was kind enough to gift me Midnight Oil, Spiderbait and Powderfinger on vinyl, so we left him with a few Flying Nun treats in return.
“Looking forward to the formal meeting we have scheduled for tomorrow, there’s a lot on the agenda!”
The three Flying Nun albums Mr Albanese received were Aldous Harding, The Clean, Reb Fountain and AK79.
Ms Ardern’s fiance, Clarke Gayford, was apparently less than keen on the Australian gift.
“Midnight Oil, Spiderbait and The Finger????!!!! What is this, 2004???” he wrote on her social media post.
Both PMs are keen music fans – and both are known for the occasional off-duty appearance as a DJ.
In 2016, Mr Albanese played a charity event in Melbourne ahead of that year’s federal election –ending with a sing-a-long to Iggy Pop’s The Passenger. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reminds that Ms Ardern was a headliner at Auckland’s popular Laneway Festival in 2014.
Ms Ardern has already ruled out a dual act, however, after being asked last month if she would consider holding a DJ set with Australia’s new PM.
“No, that’s a firm no. I have not raised that question with the Prime Minister-elect but I think I can feel fairly confident in answering on both of our behalf,” she said.
The pair have met previously, informally through Labor-Labour networks and formally in offshoot meetings alongside Ms Ardern’s engagements with former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Ms Ardern also spoke to Mr Albanese on election night, shortly before he gave his victory speech.
Ahead of her visit to Sydney this week, she firmly placed the Pacific on the discussion agenda with Australia given China’s emboldened diplomacy in the region in recent months.
“I expect on the agenda will be developments in our region like climate change, the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, AUKUS, and the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum,” she said.
Ms Ardern also highlighted that Friday’s bilateral talks were a chance to reset the “difficult” issue of Australia deporting New Zealanders – which Ms Ardern memorably slammed then-PM Morrison over.
“I’m very clear with any Australian administration that this is a significant issue for New Zealand,” she said on Tuesday.
