Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is “very pleased” and appreciates the announcement made by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on the resumption of trans-Tasman travel.
Prime Minister Ardern announced on Tuesday New Zealand will reopen the trans-Tasman travel bubble from 11:59pm on Sunday April 18.
Ms Ardern unveiled a “continue, pause, or suspend” system for quarantine free travel between Australia and New Zealand to identify risk of COVID-19.
She said “Australia would be treated as a region” of New Zealand when deciding restrictions and did not rule out the possibility of a full 14-day quarantine upon return if deemed necessary.
Prime Minister Morrison said the resumption of the travel bubble is the “first of many steps to come” as both nations continue to return to a “more normal position”.
“The fact that we can now combine again will mean jobs, will mean people reunited; it will be many opportunities as those normal relations are restored between Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Morrison said.
“This will mean importantly, jobs for Australia. It is a win-win outcome for the trans-Tasman travel to be open.”
