Prime Minister John Key has extended New Zealand's condolences to the people of Australia, who have suffered the loss of five brave soldiers in two separate incidents in the southern Uruzgan and the Helmand provinces in Afghanistan.

This news is particularly painful coming less than two weeks after the deaths of three New Zealand soldiers in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) incident in the Bamyan province.

From 30 July 2012, the receiving office for temporary New Zealand visa applications for all applicants residing in Australia is changing to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) Sydney.

New Zealand Minister for Customs Maurice Williamson and Australian Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor today welcomed the launch of the SmartGate trans-Tasman trial.

The trial will involve the integration of New Zealand’s and Australia’s SmartGate systems and will give some travellers the opportunity to complete part of the Australian arrivals process in New Zealand.

New Zealand Climate Change Ministers Nick Smith and Tim Groser and Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus met in Wellington reaffirming the commitment of both countries to work closely together on climate change.

“Both our countries are determined to do their fair share on combating climate change and making progress on an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the Ministers and Parliamentary Secretary said.