NSW travel bubble with New Zealand could kick off within weeks
The trans-Tasman travel bubble could be kicked off within weeks, with travellers allowed to fly in from New Zealand into NSW without quarantining … but it will be a little while longer before any Aussies can make the return trip over the Tasman.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Download our app and stay up to date anywhere, any time
- What you get as a subscriber to The Daily Telegraph
Flights between NSW and New Zealand could take off within weeks to kickstart the trans-Tasman travel bubble and boost the ailing tourism industry during COVID-19.
The Sunday Telegraph understands the federal government plans will initially only permit New Zealand residents to fly into the state. There would be no quarantine period required.
NSW residents would then be allowed to travel across the Tasman by Christmas.
Low coronavirus rates and NSW’s world-leading contact tracing efforts have prompted renewed travel bubble talks.
It’s understood the federal government has approached the NSW government to discuss options.
MORE NEWS
More Aussies travel to see our retro icons
$100m lure: Where Aussies want to travel now
51 TV shows getting us through COVID
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said: “We are still hopeful that travel could open up with New Zealand this year.
“We continue to work through the necessary planning to ensure all systems are prepared to facilitate travel while protecting health.”
Transport and Tourism Forum (TTF) chief executive Margy Osmond, who is also co-chair of the trans-Tasman Safe Border Group, said flights between Sydney and Auckland could resume by November.
“It would be fair to say that on both sides of the Tasman, work has been progressing at pace to make sure that when the health requirements are right, we are ready to go,” she said.
“It would be a mistake to think that because there’s been a bit of a hiccup on their side and our side that work stopped — it hasn’t.”
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the state had invested close to $16 billion in COVID-19 health and economic measures.
“We are committed to getting our economy firing back to prosperity as quickly as possible, but the closure of international borders is holding us back,” Mr Perrottet said.
“These restrictions are having the biggest impact on our economy so we would welcome any moves by the federal government to reopen them safely.
“NSW is home to Australia’s only truly global city, and its economy is the engine room for the nation, so there’s no doubt our state should be a part of any trans-Tasman bubble.
“Last year, before the pandemic hit, visitors from New Zealand spent more than $400 million in our state and that would be a very welcome boost in our path to recovery.”
In the TTF’s submission for next month’s Federal Budget, the peak tourism group has recommended $100 million be allocated to fast-track the trans-Tasman bubble and other priority overseas routes.
The funding would also be spent to encourage international airlines to return to Australia, with Ms Osmond saying: “We don’t survive without aviation.”
The TTF is also calling for JobKeeper to be extended to September next year for the tourism, transport and aviation sectors, and for the creation of a $50 million “COVID-Safe Domestic Travel Campaign” to restore traveller confidence at airports, on planes and in accommodation.
“What we have to actually now understand is as the borders start opening, there are still going to be confidence issues in terms of people travelling,” Ms Osmond said.
“We’re seeing a bit of a rush at the moment but a lot of that is visiting friends and family because it’s been so long since people have seen each other.
“We are going to have to put a public campaign in place that makes it clear how much the government and industry have done to make the industry safer and people can have confidence travelling.”
The Australian tourism sector is losing about $8 billion on average each month due to a lack of international and interstate travel during COVID-19, with 470,000 jobs lost since the pandemic took hold.
Originally published as NSW travel bubble with New Zealand could kick off within weeks
‘It’s a day of celebration’: Shock remarks at western Sydney rally
There’s a massive police presence across Sydney as evening gatherings on the grim anniversary of Hamas attacks get under way. At Lakemba Mosque, hundreds have massed as a police chopper flies overhead.
Read more
‘So, so devastating’: Mainstay deli shuts after 70 years
The closure of an iconic southwest Sydney deli has prompted its legion of customers to express how the institution – treasured like the Opera House – meant more than prosciutto and panini.
Read more