Australia–New Zealand relations

Foreign relations between neighbouring countries Australia and New Zealand, also referred to as Trans-Tasman relations, are extremely close. Both countries share a British colonial heritage as antipodean Dominions and settler colonies, and both are part of the core Anglosphere.^[1] New Zealand sent representatives to the constitutional conventions which led to the uniting of the six Australian colonies but opted not to join. In the Boer War and in both world wars, New Zealand soldiers fought alongside Australian soldiers. In recent years the Closer Economic Relations free trade agreement and its predecessors have inspired ever-converging economic integration. Despite some shared similarities, the cultures of Australia and New Zealand also have their own sets of differences and there are sometimes differences of opinion which some have declared as symptomatic of sibling rivalry.^[2] This often centres upon sports^[3] and in commercio-economic tensions, such as those arising from the failure of Ansett Australia and those engendered by the formerly long-standing Australian ban on New Zealand apple imports.^[4]

High Commission of New Zealand, Canberra

Both countries are constitutional monarchies and Commonwealth realms – sharing the same person as the sovereign and independent head of state – with parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system. Their only land border defines the western extent of the Ross Dependency and eastern extent of the Australian Antarctic Territory. They acknowledge two distinct maritime boundaries conclusively delimited by the Australia–New Zealand Maritime Treaty of 2004.

In 2017, a major poll showed that New Zealand was considered Australia's "best friend", a position previously held by the United States.^[5]

by agreement from 1988 there will be consultation between the respective governments as part of any variation to and work towards harmonisation of common administrative procedures for quarantine

industry assistance measures

additional services were brought within the Agreement's scope from January 1989

remaining and quantitative restrictions in bilateral trade were eliminated prior to 1 July 1990

tariffs

from 1991 under the , JAS-ANZ has existed as the joint authority for the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies in the fields of certification and inspection; also, a Government Procurement Agreement was reached^[125] and legislation to establish Food Standards Australia New Zealand was promulgated that year.^[126]

Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand

a agreement was sealed in 1995

double taxation

co-operation to harmonise customs policies and procedures has existed since 1996

agreement on measures was reached in 1996

food inspection

from 1998 and a person who is registered to practise an occupation in either country is entitled to practise an equivalent occupation in the other. A Reciprocal Health Care Agreement was reached in the same year.

goods that may legally be sold in either country may be sold in the other

the Consultative Group on Cooperation was established in 1999 to function as a high-level Trans-Tasman dialogue convening and reporting annually^[127]

Biosecurity

an " Agreement" effective from November 2000 committed to the enjoyment of all freedoms of the air by airlines operating out of places in either country and the existence of an Australia–New Zealand aviation and air safety common market

Open Skies

an on business law co-ordination was reached in 2000

MOU

a agreement was reached in 2001

social security

a joint code issued in 2002

food standards

from October 2002 the inclusive of the two countries plus the Forum Island Countries has taken effect

Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER)

trans-Tasman reform occurred in 2003

imputation

revised took effect in 2007 with a review by the end of 2009 and a transitional implementation period extending to the end of 2011^[128]

rules of origin

a revised Australia New Zealand Government Agreement entered into force in 2008^[129]

Procurement

the Joint Statement of Intent: Outcome Framework issued in August 2009^[130] and has been subsequently worked upon^[47]

Single Economic Market

the Agreement Establishing the came into force on 1 January 2010^[47]
Artist's impression of SKA central core

ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade Area

a business-initiated and /InvestmentNZ-sponsored first joint Australia–New Zealand Investment Conference was held in Auckland in March 2010^[47]

AUSTRADE

the Joint Food Standards Treaty came into force in June 2010

[47]

a revised MOU on Coordination of Business Law was signed in 2010

[47]

a commitment for the two countries to jointly bid for hosting the of exploratory radio telescopes has been resolved and telescopes in the two countries have already successfully been linked for VLBI experimentation^[47]

Square Kilometre Array

CER Ministerial Forums have been held annually with an occurrence as recent as June 2010 at which investigation into trans-Tasman mobile arrangements was identified as an issue of priority concern^[47] along with co-operation for the international enforcement of understandings and controls on logging, emissions and other environmental matters

roaming

from 30 June 2010, commencing with , New Zealand's Minister for Trade is invited to membership of what was formerly Australia's Ministerial Council on International Trade^[47]

The Hon. Tim Groser

New Zealand's economic ties with Australia are strong, especially since the demise of Britain as a trading partner following the latter's decision to join the European Economic Community in 1973. Effective from 1 January 1983 the two countries concluded the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA) for the purpose of allowing each country access to the other's markets.

Two-way trade between Australia and New Zealand was NZ$26.2 billion (approximately A$24.1 billion) in 2017–18, including goods and services. New Zealand's largest exports to Australia are travel and tourism, dairy products, foodstuffs, precious metals and jewellery, and machinery. Australia's largest exports to New Zealand are travel and tourism, machinery, inorganic chemicals, vehicles, foodstuffs, and paper products.^[123]

Flowing from the implementation of the ANZCERTA:^[124]

One example of a formerly longstanding trading issue unresolved by the closer economic relations was Australia's restriction of the import of apples from New Zealand owing to fear of introducing fire blight disease. A ban on importation of New Zealand apples into Australia had been in place since 1921, following the discovery of fire blight in New Zealand in 1919. New Zealand authorities applied for re-admittance to the Australian market in 1986, 1989 and 1995, but the ban continued.^[131] Further talks over Australia's import restrictions on apples from New Zealand failed, and New Zealand initiated WTO dispute resolution proceedings in 2007.^[132]^[133] Only in 2010 did the WTO order Australia, over its sustained appeals and objections, to vary those import restrictions.^[4]

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum is a business-led initiative designed to further develop Australia and New Zealand's bilateral relationship as well as their joint relations in the region. The ninth and most recent such convened on 9 April 2011.^[134]^[135]

Establishment of a trans-Tasman to monitor legal harmonisation and examine options including closer association or union;

parliamentary committee

Pursuit of a common currency;

Offering New Zealand Ministers full membership of Australian ministerial councils;

Work to advance harmonisation of the two and telecommunications regulation frameworks.^[139]

banking

Both nations adhere to secular common law legal systems acknowledging the rule of law; and the separation of powers. Like the United States and Canada, however, Australia is a federal nation with a written constitution. New Zealand, like the United Kingdom, is a unitary state with parliamentary sovereignty. Australia lacks a treaty with its indigenous peoples, whereas New Zealand has had the Treaty of Waitangi from 1840. In acknowledgement of indigenous land rights including aboriginal title, the National Native Title Tribunal and Waitangi Tribunal in the respective nations take similar jurisdiction and powers.

Both judicial systems are now independent of the ultimate authority of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Whereas the Constitution of New Zealand is not one that is either codified or entrenched, the Constitution of Australia has had the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act as such an entrenched codification embodying a written constitution.

New Zealand contract law is now largely distinct from that of Australia due to the effect of Acts of the New Zealand Parliament promulgated since 1969.^[137] Main among them is the wide discretionary power given to New Zealand courts in granting relief.

In 2005 and 2006 the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs enquired into the harmonisation of legal systems within Australia, and with New Zealand, with particular reference to those differences that affect trade and commerce.^[138] The Committee stated that the already close relationship between Australia and New Zealand should be closer still and that:

Key recommendations on the Australia–New Zealand relationship included:

Polls[edit]

A 2021 Lowy Institute poll ranked New Zealand as the most favourably viewed country by Australians, with an 87% favourability rating. New Zealand had also placed at number one in 2019, but were not included for the 2020 poll, in which Canada ranked first.^[155] In the Lowy Institute's 2022 poll, New Zealand again ranked as the most favourably viewed country by Australians, with a 86% rating, placing it ahead of Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.^[156] In the same poll, another neighbouring Pacific Island state (Tonga), ranked as the sixth most positively viewed country with a 67% rating, placing it ahead of the United States, while the nearby countries of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea also garnered ratings of 57% and 61%.^[156]

A poll from travel company 1Cover suggested that 22% of New Zealanders had experienced displeasure at being mistaken for Australians when overseas, compared to only 4% for Australians who were mistaken for New Zealanders.^[157]