Bilateral relations. Australia and New Zealand are natural allies with a strong trans-Tasman sense of family. Migration, trade and defence ties, keen competition on the sporting field, and strong people-to-people links have helped shape a close and co-operative relationship.
While New Zealand chose not to join the Australian federation in 1901, it maintains close political contact. At a government-to-government level, Australia's relationship with New Zealand is the closest and most comprehensive of all our bilateral relationships. Prime Ministers hold annual formal talks and foreign, trade and defence ministers meet regularly. At the 2022 annual Leaders Meeting, Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Ardern announced annual meetings of Foreign and Defence Ministers and Treasurer/Finance and Climate Change Ministers. New Zealand ministers and government officials often participated with their Australian federal and state counterparts in relevant meetings of the Council of Australian Governments, until the structure was revised following the creation of the National Federation Reform Council in June 2020.
Australia and New Zealand cooperate closely in global and regional fora, including the United Nations, WTO, APEC, East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, and Pacific Islands Forum. We are both committed to helping build a stronger Pacific family through our long-standing collaboration with Pacific island partners.
Australia and New Zealand have a proud history of joint deployments dating back to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli. Our defence relationship remains as important as ever, and includes recent operations in Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Formal expressions of our security partnership are found in the 1944 Canberra Pact and 1951 ANZUS Treaty. Our bilateral defence relationship is underpinned by the 1991 Closer Defence Relations agreement (CDR), updated in 2018, which provides a broad strategic framework for the bilateral defence relationship. In accordance with the recommendations of the 2011 Review of the Australia-New Zealand Defence Relationship, a framework for closer consultation and engagement on defence has been implemented since 2012.
The 1983 Australia‑New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA or CER) is one of the world's most open and successful free‑trade agreements. The Australia, New Zealand and ASEAN free‑trade agreement (AANZFTA) entered into force on 1 January 2010. Both Australia and New Zealand cooperate closely in pursuing WTO goals, notably through participation in the Cairns Group, a coalition of 19 agriculture‑exporting countries promoting the liberalisation of trade in agriculture.
The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF), established in 2004, is a private sector-led forum which brings together Australian and New Zealand business and government leaders to reinforce and develop the trans-Tasman economy and business environment. The ANZLF, which is supported by DFAT (and its New Zealand counterpart, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) is co-chaired on the Australian side by Pip Marlow, and on the New Zealand side by Greg Lowe.
Australian and New Zealand prime ministers hold an annual Leaders' Meeting, the most recent of which took place in Sydney, Australia, on 8 July 2022. During that meeting, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern emphasised the unique closeness of the trans‑Tasman relationship and that Australia and New Zealand stand together in facing a challenging global environment. They discussed people-to-people issues, extending access to services and benefits for citizens across the Tasman, Pacific partnerships, climate change policy, Australia and New Zealand’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific and globally, and responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They emphasised the importance of CER and welcomed its 40th anniversary in 2023, agreeing to celebrate the milestone in a way that reflects the treaty’s vitality and importance.
Foreign ministers meet biannually for trans-Tasman Foreign Minister Consultations, the most recent of which were held in Wellington, New Zealand, in June 2022 between Foreign Minister Penny Wong and New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. The Ministers recognised that New Zealand and Australia are at their best when they stand united as allies and acknowledged the close cooperation between Australia and New Zealand to support a stable, prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific region amid sharper global challenges.
Former Trade Minister Dan Tehan and New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O’Connor held the most recent round of annual Closer Economic Relations trade talks on 20 September 2021 to discuss developments concerning CER, as well as global and regional trade issues. They emphasised the way in which CER has contributed to the economic resilience of both Australia and New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reiterated both countries’ commitment to work together bilaterally, regionally and in multilateral fora to support a strong and stable trading system.
Former Defence Minister Peter Dutton and New Zealand Defence Minister Peeni Henare met in Canberra on 25 March 2022, where they discussed a shared commitment to cooperate and collaborate in the Pacific and beyond, emphasising that the trans‑Tasman defence relationship reflected the spirit and essence of our countries’ ANZAC traditions.