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After simmering for weeks, the trans-Tasmanian bubble problem could finally be coming to a boil.
Covid-19 Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins said Tuesday that the thorny negotiations will likely result in a unilateral opening of New Zealand’s borders so Australians can travel to New Zealand.
“The reason we have not ruled it out is because it is actually where we are most likely to end up,” Hipkins told Parliament.
But when it comes to New Zealanders traveling to Australia, that issue still appears to be unsolved.
Hipkins also admitted Tuesday, in responses to National MP Chris Bishop, that only one case of Covid-19 had been detected in New Zealand from Australia in 2021, and “around two dozen cases” since New Zealand closed its border ago. one year.
One of the key arguments in favor of the bubble has been Australia’s lack of active cases and the low risk it represents. University of Otago epidemiologist Michael Baker said Tuesday that the risk posed by Australia was “incredibly low.”
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Covid-19 Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins before entering the Chamber. (file photo)
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Tension has risen on the issue after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rebuked New Zealand last week for keeping its borders closed.
“If the New Zealand government doesn’t want Australians to visit New Zealand and spend money in Queenstown or Wellington, or other parts of a country, that’s their business, it has always been their business,” he said.
“I’m glad they open it as soon as the prime minister and her government want to.”
The New Zealand border has been closed to anyone other than a citizen or resident, with a few exceptions, since March 19, 2020.
The Australian border has also been closed since March 20 last year, not only for incoming passengers but also for Australian citizens looking to leave its shores.
Despite Morrison’s public pleas, this restriction at the end of Australia would have to change for a reciprocal travel agreement to be enacted.
Hipkins also revealed that at least 11 rounds of discussions between officials on a jointly governed bubble deal have ended. Each country is now working on how their own arrangements could work separately and together.
“We have moved from discussing a joint decision-making framework with Australia to discussing a more one-sided approach to decision-making, and those discussions continue,” said Hipkins.
The government has been criticized for being cheap with the details of the bubble, but in Parliament on Tuesday, Hipkins was far more exaggerated.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
National Rep. Chris Bishop in the House. (file photo)
They were working out details about what would happen if the trip was suspended, the testing requirements; and current Australian exit visa restrictions.
The matter was complicated by differences between Australian states and the interoperability of the contact tracing system, he said.
The latest border pressure comes as the trans-Tasman relationship has been again tested by the deportation of New Zealand-born criminals by Australia, which Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton described as “taking the garbage out.”
The National Party has also launched a petition calling on the government to open the trans-Tasman bubble immediately, allowing round trips without quarantine to Australia.
“There is no good reason why we cannot have unquarantined travel with Australia at this time. Australia did it for New Zealanders last October, but our government will not return the favor, “said leader Judith Collins.
