Aussies will stay locked out of NZ until April under gradual Kiwi border re-opening

New Zealand’s border is opening in three stages, but it will keep Aussies out for as long as April. Here’s what the plans are.

Air New Zealand has cancelled flights between Australia and New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images

Fully vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia will be able to return to their home without quarantine from January 17.

The country’s Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins made the announcement on Wednesday as he revealed three stages in the reopening of international borders.

But the announcement means Australians - unless they hold dual citizenship - won’t be able to travel to New Zealand without quarantine until April.

From February 13, fully vaccinated Kiwis from anywhere in the world will be able to fly back and skip quarantine.

Mr Hipkins also announced fully vaccinated foreign travellers will be able to enter the country from April 30.

All travellers will be required to take a Covid-19 test on arrival, self-isolate for seven days and return a negative test before entering the community.

Indonesia, Fiji, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Papua New Guinea are designated very high-risk countries, but from early December all but Papua New Guinea will be removed from this list.

Mr Hipkins conceded some people would miss out on Christmas back home but with cases surging in Europe and elsewhere New Zealand needed to be “very careful”.

“A phased approach to reconnecting with the world is the safest approach to ensure risk is carefully managed. This reduces any potential impacts on vulnerable communities and the New Zealand health system,” he said.

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces all of New Zealand will move into the Covid-19 Protection Framework from 11.59pm on December 2. Picture: Getty Images

The border move and slow return for Australians has been slammed in NZ.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts told the NZ Herald having the dates was helpful, but the seven-day isolation requirement is ‘’hugely disappointing’’.

Tourism Export Council chief executive Lynda Keene told the Herald the self-isolation requirement was nonsense.

“If the Government pursues a self-isolation mandate for international visitors, New Zealand will simply not have an international tourism recovery of any kind and it would destroy NZ’s world-class tourism industry and its global reputation, along with hundreds of tourism businesses,” she said.

It comes after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would end a three-and-a-half-month lockdown in Auckland next month as her government moves away from a Covid zero strategy.

Ms Ardern said that from 11.59pm on December 2, New Zealand would adopt a new Covid-19 response that aims to contain the virus, rather than attempting to eliminate it completely.

It also follows Air New Zealand cancelling more than 1000 flights between Australia and New Zealand through to December 31 due to “continued border uncertainty”.

Until now, Ms Ardern has aimed for Covid zero with strict lockdowns, rigorous contact tracing and tight border controls.

“The hard truth is that Delta is here and not going away,” Ms Ardern said.

“While no country has been able to eliminate Delta completely, New Zealand is better positioned than most to tackle it.”

The new framework, known as the traffic light system, will have different restrictions depending on whether regions are at red, orange or green settings.

Pressure has been building to end a lockdown in Auckland imposed in mid-August when the Delta virus was first detected.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield speaks during the post-Cabinet press conference in parliament. Picture: Getty Images

Ms Ardern set the December 2 opening date even though New Zealand’s vaccination level is currently about 83 per cent.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said the changes would put NZ in “the best possible position”.

“We’ve got a controlled outbreak, we’re going into summer and we’ve got high and increasing vaccination rates,” he said.

Air New Zealand estimated on Monday that about 20,000 people would be affected by the flight cancellations.

In a statement, Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said recent comments by the Ardern Government that quarantine-free travel with Australia was unlikely to recommence this year, had left them with the “difficult decision” to change their schedule.

Air New Zealand has cancelled flights between Australia and New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images

“This will be particularly tough news for families and friends who were hoping to catch up over Christmas,” Ms Geraghty said.

“I appreciate how difficult this news will be, but our hands are tied until border restrictions ease, and we receive further clarity from the New Zealand government.

“We appreciate this latest news means some customers will have to wait longer before reuniting with loved ones. We’re continuing to do everything we can to get them home safely as quickly as possible.”

Air New Zealand’s schedule beyond December 31 remains in place until further notice.

Affected customers could opt to hold their fare in credit for travel at another date, or receive a refund if their ticket was eligible.

Originally published as Aussies will stay locked out of NZ until April under gradual Kiwi border re-opening