Jacinda Ardern announces New Zealand’s border reopening plan
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has revealed an extensive five-step border reopening plan — including when Aussies can return.
Quarantine-free trans-Tasman flights are now on sale as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern finally reveals when and how New Zealand will reconnect with the world after the country’s borders have been restricted for almost two years.
Thousands of Kiwis stranded in Australia waited with bated breath for the Prime Minster to confirm when they will be able to return to New Zealand without having to wrestle for an managed hotel quarantine spot. Instead, those residents eligible to enter from February 28 will be able to self-isolate elsewhere.
Prime Minister Ardern revealed the reopening will be a five-step plan, with the first phase starting from the end of February with the second step commencing two weeks later in mid-March.
Ms Ardern said the nation’s five-step plan to fully reopen the borders will conclude by October.
Fully vaccinated Kiwis and other currently eligible travellers from Australia will be able to travel to New Zealand from 11.59pm Sunday 27 February, and instead of going into MIQ, will be able to self-isolate.
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In step 2, two weeks later on Sunday 13 March, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and other currently eligible travellers from the rest of the world will also be able to travel into New Zealand without going through MIQ. During this phase, there will also be an expanded border exception for critical workers, and certain skilled workers earning at least 1.5 times the median wage.
From April 12, step 3 begins and will see the border extension include a “large international student cohort of up to 5,000 students for entry ahead of semester 2 and temporary visa holders who still meet relevant visa requirements.”
Step 4, which kicked off in July, is when Australians will be able to fly across the ditch and enjoy all that New Zealand has to offer without having to enter quarantine.
“Step 4 sees the biggest expansion yet, and includes our Australian cousins and all other visitors and other visitors and business travellers who can normally enter New Zealand without a visa,” Ardern said.
“This stage is likely to begin when we have much larger case numbers than we have now. For planning, we anticipate this stage will begin no later than July.
“I want to place strong emphasis on this being the latest we expect this to begin. There is a high likelihood of this date coming forward as we progress through the next stage of the pandemic.”
The final stage will happen in October, and essentially includes all other visitors and students who require a visa to enter New Zealand.
Air New Zealand’s trans-Tasman flights from February 28 have already gone on sale, and are not accompanied with a warning that a MIQ spot is required.
This morning a one-way flight from Melbourne or Sydney to Auckland set travellers back about $398.
Flights prior to then still require MIQ unless transiting.
In the first step of the reopening plan, vaccinated Kiwis returning from Australia will be allowed to self-isolate from February 28 and that will then be extended to New Zealand citizens in other countries from mid-March.
Instead of MIQ, those who are vaccinated will be allowed to self-isolate elsewhere.
Non-citizens with visas will be able to also avoid MIQ from April and in July non-citizens from visa-waiver countries such as Australia, the USA, and the UK will be allowed in.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is setting out a five-step plan to fully reopen the borders by October, starting with New Zealanders in Australia from the end of February and extending to overseas visitors and tourists from April to October.
Ardern assured residents that there was life before, and there will be life after, Covid.
“We are well on our way to reaching that destination. But we are not quite there yet.”
Ardern said today she would outlay the path to a “new normal”.
Ardern in her speech recalls the “early days of the Covid pandemic”.
“I recall the emergency cabinet meeting where we discussed the very first border closure – which in the first stages was country by country. I remember the moment we decided to require very traveller to self-isolate.
“I remember the cases that arose from people who then didn’t self-isolate. And I remember the establishment of our managed isolation and quarantine system on the 10th of April almost two years ago.”
Ardern says it is “easy to hear the word MIQ and immediately associate it with heartache”.
“There is no question, that for New Zealand, it has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic.
“But the reason that it is right up there as one of the toughest things we have experienced, is in part because large-scale loss of life is not.”
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