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National leader Judith Collins has questioned whether the Kiwis are ready for a trans-Tasman bubble, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the timing of the border opening is up to Australia.
Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has been talking about the possibility of traveling to Tasmania without quarantine, saying it could be open around Christmas, but said it could initially be limited to and from the South Island due to recent Auckland. cluster.
However, the prime minister of the state of New South Wales, which will likely be the first Australian state in the line of a trans-Tasman bubble, says she would rather see Australian interstate borders lifted before a bubble starts.
Ardern, speaking at Invercargill on Monday, said Australia had shifted its focus to opening up to New Zealand, after previously insisting that it would not open state-by-state.
ISTOCK
Australia’s political bosses are still talking about the possibility of a trans-Tasmanian travel bubble.
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“Now they are looking for a hotspot regime that could see travel from state to state. That is going to take a little work to see how it will be implemented, ”Ardern told reporters.
He could not give a deadline for the trans-Tasman bubble, as it would depend on the decisions of the Australian government.
New Zealand would also have to make sure the proper systems are in place, for example flights from Australia only have Australians on board.
But a state-by-state travel bubble would come faster than waiting for the entire country, Ardern said. Even if it were considered a one-way agreement, it would not be in place for long.
“Our goal has always been to open quarantine-free trips, but we need to make sure it’s safe for New Zealanders, and that’s what we’re working for.”
Australia targeted New South Wales (NSW) as the first state to open, Ardern said. New Zealand was not expected to open up to Victoria, which had a recent Covid-19 outbreak.
Braden Fastier / Stuff
National leader Judith Collins was in Nelson on Monday.
National leader Judith Collins, in Nelson on Monday, said New Zealanders “may not be” ready for a trans-Tasman bubble, but also suggested New Zealand needed to open up.
“People need to know that they are safe … People also need to understand if they want to remain entirely New Zealand’s stronghold forever,” he said.
“I think we can leave out Covid, I think we can do a good job, but it takes a single border agency as we have promoted. What you cannot do is follow the path of having several ministers and no one seems to be in charge. “
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the Sydney morning herald I’d rather have Australian state borders open before a travel bubble forms through Tasmania.
“I would feel more comfortable if we did not have borders within Australia, before doing that,” he said.
Berejiklian said there should be a reciprocal agreement to travel without quarantine with New Zealand.
“Certainly not having kiwis in quarantine would free Australians to come back as well,” he said.
