Chief Minister Andrew Barr and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key will lobby for travel between the two nations to be treated as a "domestic-like experience", a move that would greatly benefit Canberra tourists and public servants travelling to the capital across the ditch.
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Mr Barr also discussed recent changes at Air New Zealand, which recently sold its majority stake in Virgin Australia, and whether they could help the airline establish routes to Canberra.
The meeting with Mr Key, for whom Mr Barr has been mistaken in the past, took place in the prime minister's office at New Zealand's parliament in Wellington, lasting about 30 minutes.
Mr Key, a conservative and a close friend and supporter of Malcolm Turnbull, asked about the uncertain result of Saturday's federal election.
"Indeed, that was the prime minister's opening question," Mr Barr said.
"We discussed some of the trends that are emerging in terms of Western democracies, and reached the conclusion that with our federal parliament likely to be a minority government, that's obviously something that they experience regularly here in New Zealand," he said.
"So it is manageable, you can govern in minority, we obviously demonstrate that in the ACT."
Much of their meeting focussed on the ways in which the two capitals could benefit from improved interconnectedness, particularly ahead of direct three-hour Singapore Airlines flights in September.
Mr Barr said both he and Mr Key would push to create a domestic-like travel arrangement between the two nations.
"That's something that we strongly support, and I have no doubt the New Zealand government does as well," Mr Barr said.
"So some joint lobbying of the Australian government and Australian immigration officials to make that process a little more straightforward would be a benefit to the ACT and also here in New Zealand."
There was also some discussion of controversial plans to extend the Wellington runway by 354m southwards into the sea to allow for long-haul flights, something Mr Barr sees as having the potential to further open up the ACT to the world.
Wellington Airport, which is part owned by the Wellington City Council, is pushing for the $300 million extension, despite Qantas and Air New Zealand saying they have no intention of using an extended air strip.
"Certainly in the short-term, we want to focus on the Singapore service moving to a daily service," Mr Barr said.
"But beyond that, the idea of if Wellington Airport's runway extends, then that opens up opportunities for Wellington to be a point of which to launch onwards into North America, for example."
"They're obviously matters for the Wellington City Council and New Zealand government to resolve, but nonetheless any further investment in aviation infrastructure here in Wellington will assist overall in building the connectivity into Australia."
Later on Wednesday night, Mr Barr will sign a sister city agreement that formally establishes a relationship between the two capitals.
Wellington City Council mayor Celia Wade-Brown, who was present in the meeting on Wednesday, said Mr Barr and Mr Key had a "warm, personal" connection.
"Prime Minister John Key and Chief Minister Andrew Barr seemed to get on very well, both are ambitious for tourism and business," she said.
"It's such an obvious sister city, and it's going to be really positive."
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Barr visited the BizDojo, a Wellington company that allows small start-up businesses to work from a single space, fostering collaboration, innovation, and cooperation.
Wellington has a strong reputation for a strong start-up culture, and the council, through its agency Creative HQ, works with hundreds of new businesses each year.
The two cities will now share knowledge and expertise in the start-up space, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Canberra Innovation Network and the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency, the umbrella agency for Creative HQ.
