Source: Prime Minister of Australia
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Thanks for joining us. I was absolutely delighted to host Prime Minister Luxon in Queensland today for our Annual Meeting. Australia has no closer partner than New Zealand. We are family. And we share values, we share history and we’re two of the world’s most integrated economies. And the meeting that we had beforehand as well with business leaders really highlighted that integration which is occurring. And we spoke about practical ways in which we could further integrate our economies, have that seamless activity across the Tasman. And in addition to that, I think there’s a new element which is that we’re living in a world which is really volatile, where there is a great deal of turbulence and some of the old certainties that commanded global trade and global activity has disappeared. At a time like this, Australia and New Zealand working together is more important than ever. And there are also more opportunities than ever. Our engagement together as friends in the Pacific Island Forum, in ASEAN, at the sideline with our fastest growing regional world in human history just to our north, our participation in APEC, our engagement across so many global forums as well provides that real opportunity going forward. So, I think this is an exciting time for us.
As many of you would know, our Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement was one of the first major achievements of the Hawke Government back in 1983. It is one of the most comprehensive bilateral trade agreements in existence anywhere. Australia is New Zealand’s third largest trading partner and New Zealand is Australia’s seventh largest trading partner. In 2025, two way investment was valued at $308 billion dollars. In 2025, our two way trade in goods and services exceeded $38 billion dollars. This year as well, we celebrate 75 years of our Alliance under the ANZUS Treaty. The other thing we’ve spoken about today is our cooperation in defence, in foreign affairs, in international relations, that’s so important, both in terms of the interoperability of our defence forces, but also the benefits that we can get from our defence industry investments that both of us are making going forward. As founding members of the Pacific Islands Forum, we’re also working with our fellow Pacific leaders to support Pacific-led regional architecture. Now, I had a visit just this week of Prime Minister Wale soon after his election in the Solomon Islands. And he’ll visit New Zealand in just a short period of time. That is really important. We discussed the lead up to the PIF meeting in Palau. We’ll participate of course in a pre-COP event as well in the region. And we’ll continue to engage in the Pacific to meet the challenges which are there, but also to seize the opportunities which are there. So, I want to thank you, Christopher, and I thank Amanda as well for visiting us. For members of the New Zealand business community who’ve joined with us here today. I think it was one of the most effective business meetings that I’ve had as Prime Minister, I’ve got to say. It was very sharp. A lot of work went into the preparation, clearly, to make sure it was a very effective use of our time. And I thank the Australian business leaders as well for visiting us here in Queensland. So, we’ll hear from Prime Minister Luxon then we’ll have questions.
< RT HON CHRISTOPHER LUXON MP, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND:
Look, today we had a very productive discussion. As the Prime Minister said, we touched on defence, that history continues to shape how we cooperate today. That Anzac connection that was forged so long ago is just a good reminder of us about how enduring and relevant that relationship is. We talked about ensuring that that relationship remains fit for purpose. That includes our defence cooperation with the goal of operating even more closely in a more integrated way over time, working towards that capable ANZAC force that we set that vision for in 2035. We also talked about the importance of our cooperation in the Pacific. New Zealand and Australia have closely aligned interests in supporting a region that is incredibly stable, resilient and prosperous. And we also committed to working together in a coordinated way that delivers practical outcomes for our Pacific partners as we do each and every day. Alongside that strategic alignment, our economic relationship is highly developed. As the Prime Minister said, there’s about $38 billion dollars’ worth of goods and services that moves between our two countries each year. It was a very, very good conversation with the CEOs from both sides talking about what more we can do together. And that alignment in our economies just continues to play a really big strength as we think about how we build more financial security as part of our broader national securities in the context of that volatile and changing world. There’s more that we think we can do together as we think about how we do more around technology, building that resilience and driving more economic productivity and more economic growth. It’s a real pleasure just then to stand and actually see the signing of the next phase of the Trans-Tasman science collaboration related to the Synchrotron Agreement that reinforces New Zealand’s long-standing commitment to international science collaboration and shared research infrastructure with Australia. And it commits us to the next phase. And then finally our people to people connections are just another key strength in our bilateral relationship. And Australia of course is the largest source of visitors for us, with more than one and a half million Australians coming over and seeing and spending some time in New Zealand. And that is a genuine two-way exchange, as you know, with New Zealanders coming to Australia and more broadly, a number of New Zealanders now calling Australia home.
Looking ahead, I felt after this visit there are real clear opportunities in this foundation to continue to build out upon, having met with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games team. That is a massive chance for our region, a fantastic chance for our region in the next decade to lift the profile of tourism and infrastructure and productivity in the broader Australia-New Zealand region. At its core, this is a relationship that is deeply integrated. It is highly practical and pragmatic. It’s focused on delivering outcomes for both of our countries and the priority for both of us is to continue to build on that strength, focusing on positioning Australia and New Zealand to make the most of the opportunities that we see out there together in the world, in spite of the volatility and the uncertainty. Prime Minister, I just want to reiterate again a big thank you to you and Jodie for so warmly being so generous with your hospitality and we really appreciate the friendship and the spirit of our negotiations always with you and all the officials and all of our teams that work so closely together. And we look forward with great confidence to continuing to deepen our friendship and our partnership and taking it to the next level.
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