Abbott takes Australian campaign to NZ

A factory visit at the crack of dawn and afternoon tea with rural firefighters.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's Saturday was more like an election campaign than an official state visit to Australia's close friend, New Zealand.

In a way, it was part of a campaign: for Mr Abbott to keep his job.

Leadership tensions within the Liberal Party followed him across the Tasman and for all he insisted it was just "Canberra insider gossip". Kiwi reporters were as fascinated by the intrigue as their Parliament House colleagues.

"Why not just stand down?" a baffled New Zealander asked at a press conference.

It was easy enough to avoid questions at an early morning outing to an Auckland glass factory with wife Margie, few media and half a dozen workers brought in specially on the weekend to meet the PM on his 15-minute tour.

But even at the formal bilateral meeting with NZ Prime Minister John Key, Mr Abbott couldn't escape the ghost of a possible challenge.

"John and I obviously have discussed leadership, and I've come to the clear conclusion that John's leadership is safe," Mr Abbott joked to reporters at a joint press conference after the meeting.

Luckily, the lure of cricket provided some distraction.

The prime ministers watched Australia bat first against the Black Caps in the teams' World Cup group match at Eden Park.

The pair have been lightly ribbing each other about their countries' sporting prowess at each public appearance during the trip.

Mr Abbott cautioned that, while Australian can-do optimism had spread across the Tasman, the one area Mr Key shouldn't be optimistic was on the cricket pitch.

But as they watched, the Aussie batting order collapsed.

By the time the prime ministerial motorcade arrived at an Auckland fire station, Mr Key couldn't contain his glee.

"There's not a rural fire happening at the moment; there's an urban fire happening down at Eden Park," he told the group of firefighters who've battled blazes in Australia.

"We've been burning our way through the Australian wickets. We'd urge you not to go and put that fire out."

A blank-faced Mr Abbott may have been hoping the Australian campaign wasn't an omen.