Anthony Albanese has wrapped up his overnight trip to New Zealand with a visit to the national war memorial and a street stroll through downtown Wellington.
The Australian prime minister is in the New Zealand capital for annual leaders' talks with counterpart Chris Hipkins, pledging to explore easier travel across the trans-Tasman border.
"We agreed to put together a joint Australia-New Zealand expert group with a clear deadline of 12 months to scope initiatives to move closer towards seamless travel across the Tasman," Mr Hipkins said on Wednesday.
The measure was applauded by tourism bodies in both countries.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram said security concerns and complexities could be overcome.
"Technology is fast moving and can be used to make the experience of crossing the Tasman quicker and easier,” Ms Ingram said.
NZ Opposition Leader Chris Luxon - a former chief executive of Air New Zealand - was downbeat on any move towards seamlessness.
"I'm sure many ministers before have considered it an obvious thing to do ... the devil is in the detail," he said.
Wednesday's bilateral was the fifth meeting of the two leaders since Mr Hipkins took office in January.
The most significant outcome of those meetings has been an expansion of citizenship eligibility for New Zealanders.
As of July 1, Kiwis have practically direct access to an Aussie passport if they have lived in Australia for four years, with 10,000 applications already in.
"That will strengthen those people-to-people relations," he said.
The pair discussed deepening defence ties, shared strategic challenges, climate change, trade and more in a wide-ranging chat before heading to the FIFA Fan Festival to watch the Women's World Cup over a beer.
Mr Albanese said the co-hosted tournament showed the closeness of the relationship between Canberra and Wellington.
"There are no two countries in the world that are closer than Australia and New Zealand. We share so much history. We share so much culture, and we share values that are very important as well," Mr Albanese said.
Wednesday's schedule finished with a gala dinner at Government House with about 100 business, cultural and political heavyweights.
On Thursday morning, the pair headed to Wellington's Leeds Street precinct for a wander through upmarket retail outlets.
The pair stopped at trendy restaurant Shepherd for breakfast, took in Wellington Chocolate Factory, Shelly Bay Bakery and Fortune Favours brewery to pull a pint.
Mr Albanese, a craft beer advocate, declined a breakfast beer but enjoyed a pat of the head brewer's pug dug, who looked nonplussed at the visiting dignitary.
