Transtasman investment deal on agenda

Finalising a new transtasman investment agreement is on the agenda in talks between Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her New Zealand counterpart, John Key.

The Australian leader has also said her country will continue to look across the Tasman to help fill serious workforce shortages.

Gillard has confirmed that Canberra will continue to tighten transtasman economic, trade and security relations ahead of her arrival in Wellington tomorrow.

Gillard's meeting with Key is only their second since the Australian leader deposed her predecessor Kevin Rudd, who is now Foreign Minister, last year.

They met at the East Asia Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, and communicated during the Pike River mine disaster and Australia's floods and Cyclone Yasi.

This week's meeting, and the subsequent relationship, will be central to the wider functioning of transtasman relations.

The tone so far has been positive: Gillard intervened personally to ensure ex-gratia federal flood relief payments were made to "non-protected" expatriate Kiwis - those who arrived after 2001 and have not become residents and who were not eligible for them under present agreements.

The two militaries are also developing plans for greater co-operation, following last week's meeting in Wellington between Defence Minister Wayne Mapp and Australian counterpart Stephen Smith.

In written answers to questions submitted by the Herald, Gillard said that strengthening transtasman economic integration, including further moves towards a single economic market, was a key priority for her Government.

"The initiative is driving increased productivity, job creation and international competitiveness through improving regulatory harmonisation and alignment. It generates jobs and growth for our citizens. Our goal is a harmonised transtasman business environment with minimal barriers to trade and commerce."

Gillard said Canberra also remained committed to a key development in the Single Economic Market outcomes framework agreed between Key and Rudd in 2009 - moving net transtasman benefit ahead of purely national interests.

Further co-operation was also likely on climate change. Gillard said Australian and New Zealand officials had maintained close contact for several years in regard to each other's approach to carbon price policy issues and would continue to do so.

She said Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet and Environment Minister Nick Smith had already said that New Zealand had benefited from Australian expertise in designing features of its emissions trading scheme, while Australia would benefit from Wellington's experience in introducing its scheme.

And Kiwis will be increasingly welcome across the Tasman as the skills shortage bites.

Even before massive reconstruction after the floods drove new warnings of shortages in skilled labour, Australia was facing a growing problem.

Federal listings show shortages across a broad swathe of the economy, from management to surveyors, engineers, scientists and geologists to veterinarians, teachers and most trades. Health and medical services are also pressed, needing more radiographers, optometrists, chiropractors, midwives, nurses, dentists and social workers.

"New Zealanders have made a significant contribution to the Australian economy and are highly valued members of the community," Gillard said.

"Australia is addressing the challenge of skills shortages through a variety of measures designed to generate a high participation, high productivity economy.

"Encouraging skilled migration is one area, as recognised by the Government's recent decision to speed up visa processing for temporary skilled migrants who work on flood rebuilding."

And, she said, Australia valued the economic and social benefits of free movement of people between the two countries.