Australia Yearbook - 2009-10

grouping). As agricultural exporting countries,
Australia and Canada also cooperate in the WTO
and as members of the Cairns Group to work
towards freer trade in agricultural products.
Canada will host the G20 Summit in 2010.
New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand share a close and
diverse relationship, underpinned by extensive
and high-level government-to-government
interaction and strong business and
people-to-people linkages. Bilateral meetings
between foreign ministers from the two countries
reflect the close foreign policy interests Australia
has with New Zealand. Strategic and defence
relations are set out in the Canberra Pact (1944),
the ANZUS Treaty (1951) and the Australia-New
Zealand Closer Defence Relations Agreement
(1991).
The trade and investment relationship is
underpinned by the 1983 Australia New Zealand
Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement
(ANZCERTA), which creates a free trade area
between the two countries. An annual ministerial
meeting addresses ways of further facilitating the
free flow of trade between the two countries.
Exports of Australian goods and services to New
Zealand were valued at $9.4 billion and $3.5
billion respectively in 2008. Australia imported
goods and services from New Zealand valued at
$7.6 billion and $2.5 billion over the same period.
Australia’s major merchandise exports to New
Zealand are crude and refined petroleum,
medicaments and motor vehicles. New Zealand is
Australia’s seventh-largest trading partner and
third-biggest investment market.
People-to-people contact between the two
countries is extensive. Over half a million New
Zealanders live in Australia, while around 65,000
Australians live in New Zealand. The trans-Tasman
Travel Arrangements of 1973 allow Australians
and New Zealanders to visit, live and work in each
other’s countries without restriction.
The business-led Australia New Zealand
Leadership Forum brings together ministers and
business representatives, academics and other
senior community leaders to create an
independent platform for ways to broaden and
deepen the bilateral relationship. The Forum last
met in Sydney in August 2009 and involved the
two Prime Ministers, 15 ministers and over 100
participants from both countries.
Europe
Australia enjoys close relations with Europe –
both with the European Union (EU) and with
individual European countries.
As the world’s largest economy, trader and aid
donor, and home to almost half a billion people,
the EU is an important partner for Australia. As a
bloc, its 27 member states constitute Australia’s
largest trading partner and largest source of
foreign direct investment. Total two-way trade in
2008-09 was worth $90.2 billion.
In April 2008, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and
the European Commission (EC) President José
Manuel Barroso jointly committed to a new era of
creative, broad-based engagement between
Australia and the EU. They agreed to develop an
Australia-EU Partnership Framework which, since
its launch in October 2008, has been the primary
underpinning and driver of the relationship. In
its first year the Partnership Framework delivered
substantive outcomes, including the signing of
the Australia-EC Wine Agreement and the EC’s
becoming a foundation member of the Global
Carbon Capture and Storage Institute. The
second iteration of the Framework, launched in
October 2009, contains new commitments to
further enhance cooperation across five broad
objectives. The weblink:
provides
further information.
Increased high-level contact between the two
sides during 2008 and 2009 is evidence of the
strong and growing relationship, with many
Australian Ministers visiting the EU and three
European Commissioners visiting Australia. These
visits have helped underline commitment by both
sides to work together on a range of pressing
international issues, including in response to the
global financial crisis and climate change.
Australia and the United Kingdom share a
particularly close and vibrant relationship based
on close historical and people-to-people links,
aligned strategic interests and strong bilateral
trade and investment. The strength of the
relationship is underscored by regular high-level
contact. A new National Security Partnership was
announced in March 2009 by the two countries’
Prime Ministers.
156 Year Book Australia 2009–10