Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd arrives tonight for his first visit to New Zealand since taking office, with climate change on top of his agenda.

Mr Rudd and his New Zealand counterpart Helen Clark are due to give speeches to a trans-Tasman climate change conference in Auckland tomorrow morning, before holding formal talks.

Both leaders are meeting ahead of the Pacific Island Forum leaders' gathering in Niue this week and Miss Clark said the forum and climate change would dominate their talks.

Miss Clark said officials had told her there had been close consultation with Australia as both countries designed emissions trading scheme (ETS).

"They are different schemes but not incompatible and they have the scope to be linked together in the future."

The New Zealand legislation has been parked while the Government tries to get support from other parties to pass the law.

Miss Clark said talks with the Greens and New Zealand First over the ETS were an "ongoing matter", but she had no announcements to make about whether the Government had the number of votes necessary to pass the legislation.

Miss Clark said it would be the fourth time she had met Mr Rudd since he became prime minister late last year.

Miss Clark went to Brisbane late last year for an informal meeting with Mr Rudd soon after the Australian election.