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Australia has finalized a trans-Tasmanian bubble deal that will allow Kiwis to cross the trench without having to quarantine upon arrival.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday, and the border will reopen on Friday, October 16. ABC reported.
Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hinted that plans to open up Kiwis for non-quarantine travel are imminent.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack later told the media that the first stage of the limited travel bubble would allow New Zealanders to travel free of quarantine to New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
“This is the first stage of what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries, not just that state and that territory,” he said.
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* Trans-Tasman trip: Australia hopes to open its borders to New Zealanders in November
At this stage, the arrangement is one-way and Australians cannot travel to New Zealand.
McCormack said it was up to Ardern to determine how New Zealand could receive and handle the Australians coming to New Zealand.
An Ardern spokeswoman said New Zealanders who traveled to these Australian states would still need to have the proper managed isolation reserve upon return, spend two weeks in managed isolation and pay the fee that applies to anyone who has left New Zealand after the August 11.
Ardern said earlier on Friday that Australia’s plans to open its borders to kiwis could be “its prerogative”, but New Zealand was not yet ready to travel without quarantine from Australia.
“I want New Zealanders to keep in mind that even if Australia [opens up its borders for New Zealanders], that does not mean that they will not have to go into quarantine upon return. In fact, at this stage they will, ”he said during a press conference on Friday.
“In our opinion, we are not prepared to travel without quarantine with Australia. They have a very different strategy than ours, so they are making that decision and that is their prerogative, but for now of course we have to keep New Zealanders safe. “
