Julia Gillard to New Zealand, coincided with the September 2011 gathering of the Pacific Islands Forum, held in Auckland, of which both Australia and New Zealand are members. Gillard made her final trip to New Zealand on 9 February 2013; visiting Queenstown, she and Prime Minister Key announced a deal on asylum seekers, which would see New Zealand accept 150 refugees annually from Australia, starting in 2014. In relations with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, Gillard represented Australia at the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in London in April 2011 and hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)
Gillard Government his resignation as foreign minister on 22 February, citing a lack of support from Julia Gillard and character attacks launched by Simon Crean and "a number of other faceless men" as the catalyst for his resignation. Prime Minister Gillard called a leadership ballot for 27 February. In doing so, she attempted to see off a "two-stage" strategy by declaring she would return to the backbenches and renounce any future leadership bid, and asking Rudd to do the same. She also expanded upon the reasons for her original challenge of Rudd's leadership, saying that his government had entered a period of