Jacinda Ardern and Anthony Albanese’s joint news conference was a show of unity as they announced moves to potentially streamline citizenship for Kiwis, but it only took a question around nursing shortages to bring out trans-Tasman competition.
With both countries facing critical nursing shortages, Albanese was asked if he wanted to address Australia's shortfall of nurses by bringing them in from Aotearoa.
Ardern interrupted her Australian counterpart - "that’s a hard no".
The Australian PM paused before saying, “our priority is to make sure we deliver on our commitments…we’re not targeting our friends in New Zealand".
He went on to say that the two nations “share labour exchanges all the time” and he and Ardern had discussed how to work for their common interests.
Ardern added that a shortage of medical practitioners, including nurses, was a worldwide issue.
"I think New Zealand and Australia are not unlike the rest of the world, there are some areas globally, be it mental health or just health practitioners generally where you see a number of countries now seeking additional skills.
“It’s in our interest to grow that pool.”
It comes as nurses continued to fight for better pay and work conditions, as well as safe staffing levels.
Meanwhile, recent surges in Covid-19 cases mixed with winter illnesses were putting the health system under significant pressure.
READ: Nurses warn more lives at risk if staffing crisis not addressed
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