Minister of Defence and of Research, Science and Technology Wayne Mapp will travel to Australia tonight for annual meetings with his Australian counterparts.

Dr Mapp will meet the Australian Minister for Science and Innovation, Senator Kim Carr, in Melbourne tomorrow.

"New Zealand has an ongoing commitment to research collaboration with Australia. Like ourselves, Australia is engaged in reviewing and setting its science priorities for the next few years. I look forward to building co-operation with Australia on those issues for the development of our two economies," Dr Mapp said.

The Minister will hold discussions with Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner in Sydney on Wednesday.

"The ANZAC partnership is our most fundamental defence and security commitment, on which Prime Ministers Key and Rudd have put particular emphasis," Dr Mapp said.

"There is a very strong commonality of interest between the two countries. This year the Defence Reviews in both countries create a unique opportunity to further develop the relationship to a new level of co-operation," he said.

The Minister will return to New Zealand on Wednesday night.