Trans-Tasman travel: All in time for Anzac Day: PM lauds NZ bubble

Jacinda Ardern spruiks NZ’s ‘beautiful places’, Morrison promises ‘more to come’ as quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel takes flight.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says return quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand is the “first of many more steps to come” as the country begins to slowly open up to the rest of the world.

The Prime Minister opened up quarantine-free travel to New Zealanders headed to Australia six months ago, but travellers from Australia will only be free of quarantine from April 19, after NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move today.

Mr Morrison on Tuesday said he looked forward to the jobs the two way travel bubble would create here and in welcoming more Kiwis to Australia.

“This is the first of many more steps to come, I believe, as we get back to a normal, more normal position, not only over the course of this year but beyond,” he said in Canberra.

“I very much appreciate the arrangement the New Zealand government has come to today, we welcome them back as indeed Kiwis will be welcoming Aussies.

“And all in time for Anzac Day also which is tremendous, to see that occur in the true Anzac spirit of our two nations coming together again.

“This will mean importantly, jobs for Australia … that means more planes in the air, more jobs on the ground and in the air as well for our airlines.”

‘Come see us’: Ardern announces April 19 start to bubble

Ms Ardern has told Australian tourists to “come and see us” as she announced quarantine free travel between the two countries take flight.

In two weeks time, Australians will be allowed to visit New Zealand without quarantining — as long there are no serious Covid outbreaks.

Pointing out that her country is safe from COVID-19 and there are many beautiful spots to travel to, Ms Ardern said on Tuesday her travel bubble plan would give Australian tourists the change of scene they craved.

“The first thing that I would say is that we are safe and we cannot underestimate how important that is in this COVID-19 world. We are a safe place to bring your family to come and visit,” she said.

“Secondly, we are fast approaching ski season and I know that’s something that Australians love to partake in and that’s rapidly coming upon us.

“But even if you’re not a skier, I can’t begin the list, the beautiful places we have to visit. It is ultimately a change of scene that so many have been looking for.

“You may not have been in long periods of lockdown but you haven’t had the option. Now you have the option, come and see us.”

Jacinda Ardern speaks to reporters about the travel bubble. Getty Images)

New Zealanders can currently come to Australia without quarantining here, but must do so when they return.

Speaking in Wellington, Ms Ardern said the new travel bubble would be a world-first.

“Cabinet was presented with advice today that conditions for opening up quarantine-free travel with Australia had been met,” she said in Wellington.

“The Director-General of Health considers the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from Australia to New Zealand to now be low, and that quarantine-free travel would be safe to commence.

“Cabinet accepts that advice and is confident not only in the state of Australia but also in our own ability to manage a travel arrangement.”

Air New Zealand said it was “incredibly excited” at the announcement as it announced it was planning flights to nine ports in Australia.

The airline said it has been preparing for a trans-Tasman bubble for a few months now, bringing approximately 330 recalled crew back on-board and ensuring they are up to speed with training, along with making sure its international airports and lounges are ready for the influx of customers.

The airline will be recommencing travel to nine ports in Australia, with initial capacity at approximately 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

In her announcement, Ms Ardern said the bubble, which will begin at 11.59pm 18 April, 2021, would suspend flights from individual Australian states if there were any contained COVID-19 outbreaks, rather than suspending the entire route.

Ms Ardern said she was now treating Australia as a “region of our own” but warned potential travellers they must be prepared for flights to be suspended or paused if there is an outbreak.

“In many ways we will treat Australia as a region of our own when making decisions on restrictions, albeit one with the complication of multiple internal borders,” she said in Wellington.

“To help make that work as seamlessly as possible, our officials are already working closely together.

“Once we know about a case in Australia we will have three possible responses when it comes to flights and access to our border, and we’ve captured these with a framework based on continue, pause, or suspend.”

An Air New Zealand plane at Auckland airport. Picture: Getty Images.

The NZ Prime Minister said limited outbreaks in quarantine hotels would likely not see a suspension of flights.

An outbreak in an individual state might see flights from that state only suspended. But Ms Ardern said she would be prepared to suspend the entire bubble if there were dozens of mystery COVID-19 cases.

Australians who want to travel quarantine-free to New Zealand will also be subject to some strict new protocols, including downloading NZ’s COVID-19 trace app and wearing masks.

Arrivals from Australia will only be on planes with others who have been in this country – including crews – for 14 days and they will be separated from other international arrivals at New Zealand airports.

Ms Ardern said Australian travellers will have to wear masks on flights and be subject to temperature checks.

“They won’t be able to travel if they have cold or flu symptoms. When they fly, they will be required to wear a mask on a flight and will also be asked to download and use the NZ COVID Tracer app for use in New Zealand.

On arrival, passengers will be taken through what we call “the green zones” at the airport – meaning there’ll be no contact with those arriving from other parts of the world and going into managed isolation or quarantine facilities.

“We will also be undertaking random temperature checks of those arriving as an extra precaution. All of that, alongside, of course, the usual welcome that we like to give those who are either our guests or are returning Aotearoa New Zealand.”

She also warned she would consider changes to the bubble if Australia opens up to other countries like Singapore.

While the focus on a travel bubble with New Zealand, tourism and industry groups have floated the idea of moving next to travel bubbles with low risk countries like Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

Ms Ardern said she had no information that an Australia-Singapore travel bubble was imminent, but it could affect travel between her country and this nation if it were considered a risk.

“It comes back to each country’s prerogative as to how they deal with travel with one another, if they choose to do that,” she said.

“No conversations have been concluded in that regard. Australia as far as I’m aware has not made a decision around Singapore. We haven’t either.

“It is fair to say they have a different strategy than either of our countries. I imagine that would be something that would be given long and hard consideration before any decisions were made.

“If we have concerns that it opens up a risk, we will express that to Australia. We may make changes based on it.”

Ms Ardern said she was hoping to see Scott Morrison face-to-face soon. She has spoken to Mr Morrison, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk about her travel bubble plan.

Ms Ardern said she looked forward to inviting Mr Morrison for leader-to-leader talks in her country “relatively soon” and dates were being discussed.

“We have, you all know, been delaying the leader level dialogue that we usually have at

the beginning of the year because we want to carry it out face-to-face,” she said.

“I spoke to Prime Minister Scott Morrison last night to say today is the day the cabinet would be making those decisions. The first thing we talked about was when we could have those face-to-face meetings.

“Dates are being discussed. I expect it will be relatively soon. I’ll be looking to use the opportunity to take Prime Minister Morrison to an area that has previously enjoyed high levels of international visitors and that we’ll want to put back on the world stage.”