Australians could soon be allowed to fly to New Zealand as Jacinda Ardern prepares to let in residents from all states except Victoria
- Travel-bubble between Australia and New Zealand has been on table since May
- But the plan is being held back by a massive coronavirus outbreak in Victoria
- Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern said is prepared to restart trans-Tasman flights
- But it would be on a state-by-state basis meaning Victorians are banned
Australians could soon be allowed into New Zealand after Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern said she was prepared to restart trans-Tasman flights from states with low numbers of coronavirus cases.
A so-called travel-bubble between Australia and New Zealand has been on the table since May but is being held back by a massive outbreak in Victoria which has plunged 12 Melbourne postcodes back into lockdown.
On Monday morning Ms Ardern breathed fresh life into the plan by saying that she is prepared for it to go ahead on a state-by-state basis.
She refused to give a timeframe but has previously said September is realistic.
For many Australians the attraction of New Zealand is adventure sports such as skiiing in Queenstown and Wanaka
Experts say international tourism between the two countries will particularly benefit regional areas including coastal towns (stock image)
The plan would allow residents in states with no outbreaks to enter New Zealand without having to quarantine – but Victorians would still be banned from the country.
The scheme would also depend on states keeping their borders closed to Victorians to make sure they cannot get to New Zealand by driving to another state and then getting a flight.
Ms Ardern said she has set out her requirements and the ball is in Australia’s court.
‘If states continue to have their own border controls… then it is possible. But that’s actually Australia’s call not ours,’ she told The AM Show on Monday morning.
‘It comes down to decision-making by Australia itself. We’ve got our criteria for what we need to see – either as the country as a whole or state-by-state – in order to open up.
‘Whether they choose to go state-by-state is a matter for them,’ she said.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said last month that he wanted to open up travel bubbles with some Australian states as soon as possible to revive the economy.
‘Let’s not restrain the movement between our two countries based on the slowest state in Australia,’ he said.
On Monday morning Ms Ardern (pictured) breathed fresh life into the plan by saying that she is prepared for it to go ahead on a state-by-state basis
Australia’s federal government is in charge of border controls which currently ban Australians from leaving the country.
Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has also said September is a realistic target date for the travel bubble to commence.
New Zealand is Australia’s second-biggest international tourism market after China with 1.4million visitors a year while 1.5million Australians go to New Zealand every year representing the county’s biggest market.
Before coronavirus stuck, tourism supported 924,600 jobs in Australia and 229,566 jobs in New Zealand – around eight per cent of the workforce in each country – but almost all of these roles have been affected by the crisis.
Victoria racked up another 74 new cases on Sunday, bringing its confirmed infections total to 2,536.
Some 12 Victorian postcode areas have been put into stage three lockdown until at least July 29 in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
More than 3,000 tenants in nine tower blocks have been put under ‘hard lockdown,’meaning they cannot leave their homes.
Soon Australians will be able to travel to wineries in New Zealand (pictured) after the travel bubble between the nations is established