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New Zealand - Australia Relations

Australia and New Zealand have not always enjoyed the most comfortable of Defence relationships, especially after New Zealand was suspended from the ANZUS Treaty in the early 1980s. But the old closeness has returned. The relationship with Australia is New Zealand's closest and most significant. It is underpinned by geography and shared historical linkages, values and institutions, and substantial people-to-people links. The relationship encompasses close cooperation, on trade and economic issues, defence and foreign policy, but also extends across the range of government activities. Australia and New Zealand work closely on a wide variety of foreign policy and trade issues. This is particularly so in the South Pacific, East Asia and in multilateral organisations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. This uniquely close relationship is supported by extensive bilateral political engagement, and the work of senior business, community and academic leaders, who play an important role in exploring the possibilities for further developing the already close relationship.

New Zealand did not take part in the movements which led to the federation of the Australian colonies in the Commonwealth of Australia, but watched them with evident interest and a final wakening of inclination to be joined in union with them When the Act of the Imperial Parliament "to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia" was under discussion in England in 1900). The Agent-General for New Zealand in London addressed to the Colonial Oflice (March 30, 1900) a Memorandum, which explained the attitude of that colony towards the federation movement in Australia: "The Government of New Zealand desires to secure the insertion of certain amendments in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Bill shortly to be laid before the Imperial Parliament.... The first of them is, in effect, that New Zealand should preserve the right of joining the proposed Commonwealth of Australia on the same terms as the original States now about to be united in such Commonwealth..." Others were afraid that New Zealand's national identity would be lost in a federated Australasia. In the Constitution Act as passed, New Zealand is mentioned specifically among the "States" to which its provisions may apply, though not included in what relates to the "Original States."

Migration, trade and other people-to-people linkages have also played a key role in shaping this close relationship and the robust trans-Tasman sense of identity. This tradition continues today with almost two million short term visits across the Tasman each year. There are also substantial resident populations of New Zealanders in Australia, and of Australians in New Zealand, furthering the substantial people-to-people links that we already share.

Australia and New Zealand have an alliance relationship. The two defence forces have had the closest of relationships since the shared Gallipoli campaign of the First World War, and fought alongside each other in all major conflicts of the 20th century.

New Zealand and Australia shared an alliance relationship with the United States (ANZUS) from the end of WW2 until the mid-1980s. The end of ANZUS as a tripartite alliance led Australia and New Zealand to embark on a process known as Closer Defence Relations (CDR). CDR is not a formal treaty, but a broad arrangement that spans and brings together a large number of agreements and arrangements including on policy, intelligence and security, logistics, and science and technology.

A major focus of CDR since the early 1990s has been on maximising force interoperability. The emphasis has been on intelligence sharing, harmonising equipment purchases and force structure, and a range of joint activities including doctrine development, planning exercises and exchanges.

There is significant operational collaboration between the two defence forces, which have engaged together in recent years in operations in Timor Leste, Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

In their annual meetings, Defence Ministers have focused particularly on areas in which New Zealand and Australia troops are deployed, on the security challenges facing the immediate region, and on opportunities for increased cooperation. They have encouraged regional cooperation in countering terrorist activity, and have emphasised the importance of timely coordinated and effective responses on the part of the Australian and New Zealand defence forces.

Closer Defence Relations (CDR) with Australia has been expressed in a proposed Anzac force that could be used to respond quickly to a range of incidents in the wider Pacific region. Following their formal talks in September 2009, Defence Ministers issued a statement outlining ANZAC defence initiatives. The NZDF and ADF agreed in September 2009 to form a Pacific-focused Rapid Reaction Force to respond to regional contingencies including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Rapid Reaction Force

The NZDF and ADF agreed in September 2009 to form a Pacific-focused Rapid Reaction Force to respond to regional contingencies including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. This force will regularly train and exercise together and be able to deploy at short notice. To help facilitate this initiative the two countries will revitalise their airlift agreement to provide an efficient Anzac airlift capability. The enhancement of trans-Tasman information communication technology will be given priority as a means to facilitate joint contingency planning and closer operational cooperation. The development of this capability is an important demonstration of a mutual commitment to work together to promote security, stability and development in the Pacific region and will be given impetus through joint NZDF-ADF contingency planning for potential regional events.

Defence Minister Wayne Mapp and his Australian counterpart Senator John Faulkner met in Sydney 30 September 2009 to discuss a range of shared defence interests and security challenges. In a joint statement after the meeting, the Ministers said that while the two countries' Defence Forces have always been close, successive deployments on combined and coalition operations have highlighted the importance of maximising joint operational capabilities, interoperability and integration. These imperatives were reflected in the joint statement made by the New Zealand and Australian Prime Ministers on 20 August. The Ministers said that giving the Anzac spirit greater contemporary relevance across the spectrum of the two defence organisations was a priority for both nations and announced a series of new Anzac initiatives to further strengthen Closer Defence Relations.

Dr Mapp said the Australia-New Zealand relationship is important for both countries and is underpinned by the Anzac legacy. "We welcome the opportunity to develop this regional capacity in support of Closer Defence Relations and Pacific regional security," he said. Senator Faulkner said that the Anzac spirit has served the two nations well over the course of the past century. "With continued impetus I am confident that our capacity to meet common security challenges will continue to grow," he said.

The Ministers reaffirmed their resolve and commitment to near neighbors through enhancing regional security capabilities, and discussed the necessity for continuing to support security and stability in East Timor and the Solomon Islands. They reaffirmed the crucial role that the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was continuing to play in transitioning security responsibilities, and highlighted the effectiveness of the International Stabilisation Force in East Timor.

The South Pacific must be a key focus for the NZDF. Transnational problems are placing additional stress on countries already facing pressing political, economic and social problems. These are likely to be exacerbated by the global economic downturn. The challenge for the NZDF is to maintain mobile, responsive forces that can effectively and speedily respond to calls for help from the region, as we did following riots in Tonga in 2006 and after a tsunami in Samoa in 2009. The ongoing NZDF commitment to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) is an important contribution to stability in the South Pacific. New Zealand's influence in the South Pacific is enhanced by strong effective partnerships especially with Australia but also with other powers such as France, and with our Pacific neighbors.

New Zealand's major interest in the South Pacific centers on the South Pacific states with which it has significant cultural, ethnic or historical ties, and in some cases constitutional obligations (the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau). These interests are affected by the continuing ability of Pacific governments to provide a stable environment for economic growth and social development. The successes of these governments will shape the region's stability and migration patterns, and limit calls on New Zealand for economic or military assistance, including, where required, assistance in peace processes through diplomacy, mediation and peacekeeping. Consequently New Zealand has a substantial interest in the South Pacific's stability and prosperity and its good governance. New Zealand helps by providing aid through MAP and ODA, disaster relief, obligations for search and rescue and emergency medical evacuation, and assistance with the protection of its natural resources, including surveillance of their EEZs.