Coronavirus: Australia and New Zealand discuss idea of opening borders with each other

As Australia and New Zealand show signs of getting on top of COVID-19, there’s talk of creating a “trans-Tasman bubble” of travel between us.

A reopened border between New Zealand and Australia that would allow Australians to resume travelling across the ditch has been touted as a “serious possibility”.

Good progress in containing COVID-19 has prompted talk both countries possibly opening its borders to the other, creating a “trans-Tasman bubble” amid the pandemic if the rate of infections continues to slow.

Both nations have shut their borders to overseas arrivals, with Australians banned from travelling overseas except in exceptional circumstances.

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In New Zealand, where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s goal has been to eliminate the virus with a nationwide shutdown, there were just 15 new cases yesterday, down from a peak 89 daily cases. Australia’s new infection numbers are now below 50 cases a day.

Ms Ardern has signalled the possibility that tough lockdown measures may be eased from next week.

A proposed plan to re-open borders between Australia and New Zealand means Australians may be allowed to travel overseas sooner than we may have thought.

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said while borders would stay closed “until we see a worldwide vaccine that is working”, an open border with Australia was possible.

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“Our figures with Australia, it’s almost as if we’ve got a trans-Tasman bubble between our two countries, and if the figures keep on going that way, then that is a serious possibility,” he said.

Today Mr Peters told the ABC any move to open borders between the two countries had to ensure the safety of both populations.

“We are very, very mindful that any travel between our countries cannot imperil the safety and health and the good of the local people,” he said.

“That is a critical caveat, or a critical code is all on our plans that we should steal, and we said that, because of the closeness of our governments over the years and the decades that we should be working, I believe, more cooperatively if we can.”

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Mr Peters said Australia and New Zealand were positioned to show “serious combined leadership” and influence in the Pacific region.

“We can help each other, and whether talking about tracking or tracing or localised lockdowns, or whether we’re talking (when) ongoing testing will stop, we can share information and perhaps together, do even better than we are doing now,” he said.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison said while he would continue to work with New Zealand there were no active plans to change Australia’s current border polices.

“We are aware of their interest in that. It has not got much beyond that,” Mr Morrison said.

“So we are aware of that, but we are not at present contemplating any border changes at the moment.

“We will work closely with New Zealand; we have all along.”

Ms Ardern said the priority was still reducing the spread of coronavirus when asked about the proposal on Thursday.

“Both of us have the same goal in mind at the moment – get it under control in our own countries and then we can talk about together what we’re able to achieve,” she said.

“For both of us, I anticipate the border restrictions will be present for a long time, so it becomes whether or not there’s anything we can build into our border restrictions that take into account our goals to keep COVID out for both of us.”