Portfolio — 24 April 2026

Treasurer Jim Chalmers will host New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis in Brisbane for a bilateral meeting centred on trade, investment, and fuel security — the most operationally significant item in his schedule ahead of the May Budget [TA-260424-treasu-da5808a9c4dc]. The engagement is structured around a concrete crisis-response purpose: coordinating regional fuel-supply efforts, gathering real-time intelligence on how Australian industries are absorbing supply disruptions, and reinforcing trans-Tasman partnership at a moment of global economic stress.

Chalmers will convene industry leaders from aviation, agriculture, food-grocery, and transport to brief both ministers directly on the state of fuel and energy supply chains [TA-260424-treasu-da5808a9c4dc]. The aviation thread is particularly pointed: the two ministers will explore expanding a trans-Tasman sustainable aviation fuel supply chain as a vehicle for attracting investment and lifting regional fuel security [TA-260424-treasu-da5808a9c4dc].

Low-carbon liquid fuels are flagged as a feature of the upcoming Budget discussion, connecting the bilateral agenda directly to fiscal planning. Both governments will compare notes on the global economic outlook as they finalise their respective budget forecasts — a signal that the Treasurer is benchmarking Australian conditions against a close peer at a time of significant external uncertainty.

The PM media release frames the May Budget explicitly around resilience and reform, with the New Zealand partnership held up as evidence of the cooperative approach Chalmers is taking to the challenge [TA-260424-treasu-da5808a9c4dc]. On the margins of the Brisbane engagement, Chalmers and Willis will attend ANZAC Day commemorations in Logan City on Saturday.