Transtasman bubble: Australian PM announces borders will be open to Kiwis in two states

Publish Date
Friday, 2 October 2020, 4:56PM

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has just announced New Zealanders will be able to travel to New South Wales and Northern Territory in two weeks time.

McCormack said the travel bubble would start from one minute after midnight on October 16.

He said the decision was taken on the best medical advice and that South Australia was also ready to participate and would probably be the next cab off the rank.

"The opportunity is there and there are plenty of tourism operators in Western Australian wanting business," he said.

"If Western Australia wants to avail themselves of the travel bubble they only have to say the word."

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the National Press Club in Canberra today that New Zealanders were "very, very welcome" to spend money in New South Wales and South Australia.

However, he said he would not be able to announce Australians could travel to New Zealand, as that was New Zealand's problem to solve.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters this afternoon that it was still too unsafe to be opening New Zealand's borders to Australia.

"In our view, we are not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia. They have a very different strategy to us, and so they're making that decision ... but for now we of course have to keep our New Zealanders safe."

She urged New Zealanders to spend their tourism dollars domestically and cautioned that those going to would have to go through isolation when returning.

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