New Zealand PM and all-round legend Jacinda Ardern says that framework for people to travel back and forth between Australia and NZ is ready, but opening borders is being held back by Australia’s desire to wait until it is completely coronavirus-free in all states.
In a chat with TVNZ, Ardern revealed that New Zealand is ready to allow travel within the trans-Tasman bubble to people from all Aussie states other than Victoria.
Unfortuately, her counterparts in Aus don’t want to move state by state, and the second COVID-19 wave hitting Vic could mean it’s a while before we are able to go see our Kiwi neighbours.
“At the moment, Australia wants to move as a country rather than state-by-state, and obviously issues in Victoria are delaying that,” said Ardern. “We have focused our efforts first and foremost on that trans-Tasman work, it gives us a model and a testing ground to make sure we can do it properly and we can do it right.”
Victoria announced 74 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, following 108 new confirmed cases on Saturday, with the state government placing more than 3,000 tenants in public housing under lockdown.
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a range of measures to support those in lockdown financially, including a $1,500 hardship payment for those who are employed and can’t go into work.
Jacinda Ardern also revealed that she is in talks with several other Pacific nations over the prospect of a Pacific bubble.
“We want to make sure when we re-enter travel there we do it safely.”
She also confirmed that New Zealand wouldn’t necessarily wait for a vaccine to re-open its borders, but that there needs to be “an effective treatment for Covid, whether or not we see fast and reliable testing emerge, which could play a role in an exit strategy at borders, and whether or not we see a change in pattern to the way Covid is spreading.”
