The Governor-General of New Zealand, the Honourable Anand Satyanand, is to make a State Visit to Australia next week.
It is the first State Visit by a New Zealand Governor-General to Australia since Dame Catherine Tizard visited in the early 1990s.
The Governor-General and Mrs Susan Satyanand will arrive in Canberra on Monday 18 February. They will be met by the Governor-General of Australia, Major-General Michael Jeffery and Mrs Marlena Jeffery and the New Zealand High Commissioner Dr John Larkindale. A formal welcoming ceremony will be held at Canberra Airport about 9.30am.
In the afternoon, the Governor-General and Mrs Satyanand will visit the Australian War Memorial and New Zealand Memorial in Canberra. The Governor-General will lay a commemorative wreath at both memorials. They will also visit the High Court of Australia.
Later in the afternoon, Prime Minister of Australia, Hon Kevin Rudd, will call on the Governor-General and Mrs Satyanand at Government House in Canberra and in the evening they will attend a State Dinner hosted by the Governor-General of Australia and Mrs Jeffery.
The formal section of the State Visit will finish with a visit to the Australian National University on the morning of Tuesday 19 February.
For further enquiries contact: Antony Paltridge, Government House, 04-382-0827