Travel between Australia and New Zealand could open up at the same time as travel between different states, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern dialled into the national cabinet meeting of Australian state and territory leaders to swap notes on the two countries' responses to the COVID-19 crisis, a measure unseen since World War Two.
While using slightly different approaches, both countries have been significantly more successful than others in containing the spread of the disease, leading to suggestions a "Trans-Tasman bubble" of travel across the ditch would be possible before wider international travel.
Travel with New Zealand was "the obvious place to start," when it comes to international travel, Mr Morrison said, citing the strong bio-security arrangements in both countries and the cooperation between the two.
"It is still some time away," he said.
"We could see that happening but not something about to happen next week, it is something that will better sit alongside when we are seeing Australians travel from Melbourne to Cairns, at about that time I would expect everything being equal we would be able to fly from Melbourne to Auckland or Christchurch or things like that."
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Around 1.4 million trips are made between Australia and New Zealand each year, Mr Morrison said, with almost as many New Zealanders travelling to Australia as Australians head over the ditch.
In a joint statement Mr Morrison and Ms Ardern said they were committed to open a safe travel zone "as soon as it is safe to do so".
Other countries in the Pacific would only be included once "effective travel arrangements" had been established, the statement said
Earlier on Tuesday Ms Ardern said under the safe travel system travellers wouldn't be required to quarantine for two weeks on arrival, as is currently required for international travellers arriving in Australia and travellers between many Australian states.
"When we feel comfortable and confident that we both won't receive cases from Australia, but equally that we won't export them, then that will be the time to move," she told reporters in Wellington.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said opening of borders between the two countries is many months away, but the prospect presents opportunities for Canberrans wanting to fly directly across the Tasman.
"We have been working hard to reconnect Canberra to New Zealand ever since Singapore Airlines took the Wellington leg off their Singapore flight," Mr Barr said.
"I was due to meet officials at Air New Zealand in Auckland in late March to continue lobbying for direct flights, however that trade mission was cancelled due to COVID-19."
Mr Barr said he would be discussing opportunities for direct flights between Canberra and Wellington and Auckland with Qantas and Air New Zealand in coming months.
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
- You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
- If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)
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Sally Whyte
I report on a range of issues in federal politics and the public service, with a real passion for how decisions made in Canberra affect the lives of Australians.
I report on a range of issues in federal politics and the public service, with a real passion for how decisions made in Canberra affect the lives of Australians.
