NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian calls for Pacific bubble in 2021

Australia’s top health chief shut down prospects of widespread overseas travel this year, but the NSW Premier has another opinion.

Australia’s top health chief dashed any hopes of travelling overseas this year, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has a vastly different opinion.

Mrs Berejiklian has called on the federal government to speed up international travel bubble arrangements, despite Australia’s chief medical office Paul Kelly saying that widespread overseas travel would be “one of the last things to change” after a coronavirus vaccine rollout.

Speaking to the Herald, Ms Berejiklian said that despite the federal government’s stance, “there is no reason why” Australia shouldn’t aim to travel to selected overseas regions by Christmas.

“There is no reason why we shouldn’t aim to travel to New Zealand or some of the Pacific Islands well within the next 12 months,” Ms Berejiklian said on Wednesday.

Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

Professor Paul Kelly. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

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The Premier’s comments come as the state of NSW recorded another day of zero community transmission cases on Thursday.

Despite Australia being in an “enviable” position amid the pandemic compared with the world, Professor Brendan Murphy – the man who urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to shut the borders last year – still believes overseas travel is a long way off.

As the first anniversary of the international border closure approaches, Health Department chief Brendan Murphy said it was too early to say whether borders could reopen this year.

Overseas travel to the Pacific Islands could be on the cards this year, despite widespread international travel unlikely until 2022.

“I think that that is a big question. I think that the answer is probably no,” Prof Murphy told ABC TV.

“I think that we’ll go most of this year with still substantial border restrictions – even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus.

“And it’s likely that quarantine will continue for some time. One of the things about this virus is that the rule book has been made up as we go.”

Professor Kelly agreed with his colleague, arguing that while other countries continued to struggle to suppress the virus, international arrivals would continue to be the source of any potential new cases.

“[As] the first vaccinations rollout in a few weeks time, Australia is not going to change everything back to normal,” he said.

“We are in such an envious position at the moment compared with the rest of the world.

“Unfortunately I think international border changes are probably going to be one of the last things to change, rather than the first.”

Prof Kelly did, however, provide an optimistic view that Australia could establish quarantine-free arrangements with other nations considered to be in the “green zone” – such as a two-way bubble with New Zealand.

“We have had tens of thousands of people who have come across the ditch in the last few months and not a single case,” he said.

“We have done similar country risk assessments for many of the Pacific Islands [nations].

“We haven’t found another green zone country at this stage, there are some that are very low risk and that is playing into discussions.”

Prof Kelly says he would “welcome” New Zealand authorities to open up the border to allow Australians to travel quarantine-free across the ditch.