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New Zealanders will be able to fly to New South Wales and the Northern Territory without going into quarantine from October 16 under a one-way travel bubble announced yesterday by the Australian government.
But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office said the rules for travelers hadn’t changed and that New Zealanders returning from a trip to Australia would still have to be quarantined for 14 days.
Australian tourists are still unable to travel to New Zealand.
Returning New Zealanders will have to pay $ 3,100 per room and $ 950 for each additional adult and $ 475 per child for quarantine costs.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced the first step to a transtasman travel bubble yesterday, saying that the states of New South Wales and the Northern Territory would welcome “our friends from New Zealand” from one minute after midnight. October 16.
“I just got off the phone with [Northern Territory] Prime Minister Michael Gunner, who says ‘the fish bite and the beers are cold,’ “he said.
Under the rules of the two states, only New Zealanders who have been in a low Covid-19 “hot spot” area for 14 days will be allowed into Australia.
McCormack said South Australia would likely be the next state to reopen and that there were many Western Australian tour operators who wanted business.
He said other Pacific nations could potentially join Australia and New Zealand’s transtasman travel bubble, saying people from the Pacific Islands could travel to New Zealand, stay in a non-hot area for 14 days, and then
fly to Australia.
McCormack said Prime Minister Scott Morrison was still negotiating with Ardern about when Australians would be allowed to fly to New Zealand.
“I know, having spoken with Alan Joyce and Paul Scurrah, the CEOs of Qantas and Virgin respectively, they are also very, very satisfied with these arrangements,” he said.
Air New Zealand welcomed the announcement as a “positive step towards opening a Tasmanian bubble”, albeit a one-way agreement with those returning to New Zealand who still need to be quarantined for 14 days.
“Kiwis who want to reconnect with family and friends in the Northern Territory and New South Wales will welcome this news and we look forward to hearing more about a complete Tasmania safe zone soon,” said a spokeswoman.
New Zealand Aviation Coalition Co-Chair Justin Tighe-Umbers was delighted and said there would be many New Zealanders with family and friends in Australia and business people who would breathe a huge sigh of relief.
He said NZAC wanted New Zealand to do the same and open quarantine-free trips to people from those Australian states who meet a similar definition of a “hot spot.”
– The New Zealand Herald
