Winston Peters to discuss 'wellbeing' of Australia-NZ relationship with counterpart Marise Payne

Foreign Minister Winston Peters is off to Australia to discuss the "wellbeing" of the Australia-New Zealand relationship with his counterpart Marise Payne. 

Peters will be in Sydney to attend the regular six-monthly consultation with Australia's Foreign Minister, who he last met with in Auckland in July. 

"There are a whole lot of things we have to discuss to do with the health and wellbeing of our relationship," Peters told Magic Talk. 

Peters said he would discuss Australia and New Zealand's responsibilities in the Pacific. 

"What we do as two countries in the Pacific that are more affluent than most and our key role in that [and] a whole lot of issues such as cyber-security and new challenges we have to face". 

"It's a very serious meeting."

The meeting comes as figures released to Newshub show the number of criminals deported to New Zealand from Australia nearly doubled from 2015 to 2018 after changes to Australia's migration rules.

New Zealand has pushed back against Australia's deportation of Kiwis after a 2014 law changed the processes associated with visa cancellations on criminal grounds.  

Earlier this year, the Australian government revealed plans to strengthen its immigration rules even further, meaning more people would be eligible for deportation. 

It was met with contempt from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who didn't hold back during a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in February. 

"In my view, this has become corrosive to our relationship," she said at the time.  

When Payne last met Peters, she confirmed Australia had "no intention" of reviewing legislation around the deportation of Kiwis even if they haven't set foot in New Zealand before. 

Ardern appeared on The AM Show on Tuesday and appeared frustrated about the situation. 

"If you take it as a relationship that is like family, it is possible to have an irritant while actually continuing to maintain a relationship. It is a major irritant," she said. 

Peters did not say if the issue of deportation will be on the agenda with Payne. 

He didn't raise the issue when he last met with Payne because he said there were "a whole lot of things to discuss". 

"We haven't given up - but the point is, we have to begin on the basis that Australia has got as we have, every right to write its own domestic policy," he said at the time. 

After visiting Australia, Peters will also go to Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby for discussions with the island nation's Prime Minister Marape and Deputy Prime Minister Davis Steven.

There, he said he is "likely to discuss a range of regional issues and the Papua New Guinea electrification project which we are working on". 

Newshub.