PM Abbott New Zealand bound

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is heading to New Zealand for a dedication ceremony for an Australian memorial at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.

Mr Abbott says the gesture is a reminder of the deep ties between the two countries and commemorates the many conflicts in which troops jointly served.

"We are more than friends, we are family," he said.

It's Mr Abbott's second official trip across the ditch and follows bilateral talks in February.

Following the ceremony Mr Abbott and Prime Minister John Key will visit the Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War exhibition at Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa).

The $NZ8 million exhibition includes figures 2.4 times human scale created by Richard Taylor's Weta Workshop.

The two leaders will also have further discussions on bilateral and international issues.

Mr Abbott will fly to Turkey on Tuesday for the centenary commemoration of the Anzac Gallipoli landing.