John Key

By Mark Geenty of NZPA

Sydney, March 2 NZPA - John Key arrived bearing a framed All Blacks jersey and a $2 million cheque. Good start.

He and Kevin Rudd shared tea on an idyllic Sydney evening at Kirribilli House under the shadow of the Harbour Bridge, as the All Blacks jersey was traded for a signed Australian Prime Minister's 11 cricket bat. Mr Key and his wife, Bronagh, were hosted for dinner.

And today the Prime Ministers exchanged gags and an occasional backslap in front of the cameras like a couple of old chums.

It began well. After the balance was redressed when a second New Zealand flag was found to match the two Australian flags in the backdrop, Mr Key presented the giant $2 million cheque as New Zealand's contribution to the bushfire relief fund in Victoria.

No shortage of Anzac spirit there.

Mr Rudd had previously signed Mr Key's arm cast in Papua New Guinea in January, and he bonded further with his new mate today as the cameras zeroed in. The script played out perfectly.

"It's important on occasions like this to reaffirm one core principal, and that is for Australia, the Anzac relationship, the trans-Tasman relationship, is an absolutely Key relationship....(pause for laughter)....

"I had to work on that line," Mr Rudd explained, offering a pat on the arm to his cobber.

"It's a good line though," Mr Key beamed, returning the arm-pat.

This was going swimmingly.

It got better as the leaders vowed to hasten the reclassification of trans-Tasman flights as domestic routes, saving time at both ends of the trip and generating sighs of relief on both sides of The Ditch.

This provided an opportunity to have a quiet dig at their predecessors, Miss Clark and Mr Howard, respectively.

"John tells me both our governments have laboured energetically on this since 1992, so progress has been meteoric, and we can both blame our predecessors," Mr Rudd said.

"That was the nice thing to do," chimed in Mr Key.

After covering plenty of territory, notably the grim task of addressing the global financial crisis, the new mates were looking forward to catching up again.

Albeit with some battle lines, when that black jersey might come in handy at a certain rugby test in Sydney on August 22.

"I would hope the Prime Minister is able to return here on an official state visit some time later in the year, which he threatens to have coincide with a Bledisloe Cup game," Mr Rudd said.

"These events make Australian Prime Ministers nervous. I hope to make the New Zealand Prime Minister nervous on that occasion."

Let's not forget, Mr Rudd has got Robbie "Dingo" Deans, of Canterbury, on his side.

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