Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has arrived in Melbourne for a packed five-day schedule after her trip to Europe, saying it was "excellent" to get her business mission under way at last.

Ardern was welcomed with a ceremony by Wurundjeri elder, Aunty Joy Wandin-Murphy, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today.

Afterward, she told media the trip had been long-planned. Ardern had intended to visit Australia with a delegation in 2021 but that was scrapped after the spread of the Delta variant closed the travel bubble.

New Zealand Herald Wellington business editor Jenée Tibshraeny joined Nick Mills live from Melbourne.

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