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Australia - New Zealand : Growing Closer Together
At a government to government level, the relationship that Australia has with New Zealand is better developed and more extensive than with any other country.
The Prime Ministers of the two countries meet annually and consult frequently. For a number of years the Foreign Ministers of Australia and New Zealand have met twice yearly to discuss the overall relationship and foreign policy co-operation. The Trade and Defence Ministers meet their counterparts annually.
New Zealand Ministers and their senior officials participate, with their Australian Federal and State counterparts, in many of the Ministerial council meetings which span the Australian domestic policy agendas. In many of these meetings New Zealand attends as a full member, in others as an observer. There is constant exchange of officials between the two governments. The Foreign Affairs and Trade ministries of the two countries exchange officers every year, as do the Defence departments. Information and assessments are regularly exchanged between the two governments.
Below are links to two speeches by Dr Ashton Calvert, former Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which examines some elements of the Australia - New Zealand relationship.
Australia’s place in the international system – and our relations with New Zealand