Coronavirus: New Zealand cool on rival ‘travel bubble’ proposal
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has shot down a plan by the ACCI to start a Canberra-to-Wellington route from July.
A trans-Tasman travel blueprint designed by diplomats, border officials and major airlines is in the hands of Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern, with the New Zealand Prime Minister saying she will ban Australian flights until coronavirus cases here decrease.
The Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum has developed a comprehensive plan for travel that has been compiled by experts from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Border Force, New Zealand’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Aviation Security Service, Qantas and Air New Zealand.
Government sources say the trans-Tasman report — complied by 40 experts — is the most likely plan for a travel bubble to win approval.
Ms Ardern shot down a rival plan by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday to start a Canberra-to-Wellington route from July, saying she would not open up New Zealand until COVID-19 cases in Australia decreased further.
“Australia is still dealing with cases so a little more progress is required. I’ve been really careful not to put a date,” she said on Thursday. “I don’t want to raise expectations, particularly with the tourism sector, without knowing what is possible. But I think it is fair to say we are all very eager. We are just eager to do it safely.”
The Australian understands the Morrison government is also not ready to back the Canberra-to-Wellington plan put forward by the ACCI, Canberra Airport and other business groups on both sides of the Tasman Sea.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his government would prefer to have broader options for routes to Australia.
“I have nothing against Canberra, but I am for mass population movement by way of demand rather than capital cities,” he said.
It is also understood that September is the most likely date for a restart in travel between the two countries.
A trans-Tasman travel bubble could reopen tourism markets in both countries worth $6bn in total.
Federal Labor on a collision course with miners over green push
The federal government has made a powerful enemy for itself in the west after the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA said it would fight Labor’s push for so-called nature-positive laws.
More undergraduates signing up for teaching: Labor
The federal government has released new data showing more undergraduates are applying to become school teachers than in previous years, as it works to tackle the nation’s crippling teacher shortage.