Trans-Tasman bubble returns for Queenslanders
New Zealand will welcome Queensland back into the trans-Tasman bubble, leaving crisis state NSW the only outlier.
While there is no timeline to return NSW to the quarantine-free travel arrangement, Jacinda Ardernās government is from Tuesday allowing travellers from the sunshine state to visit without a fortnight spent in isolation.
āThe health risk from Queensland is now low,ā Ardern said on Monday.
āQuarantine-free travel from Queensland to New Zealand can resume from 11.59pm tonight.ā
NZ ordered a whole-of-Australia border closure a fortnight ago following the discovery of COVID-19 at a Northern Territory mine site with fly-in fly-out workers across the country.
Queenslandās return to the fold means all Australian states and territories ā except for NSW ā have resumed regular trans-Tasman border settings.
The growing outbreak has left thousands of Kiwis trapped in NSW after they travelled to Sydney before to the border closure.
NZ is allowing citizens to come home if they agree to spend a fortnight in hotel quarantine.
āSo thatās an indication that we think that there is a significant road to travel (before NSW is back in the bubble),ā Ardern said.
āI wouldnāt want to at this stage, put a date on when we would likely see a pause lift.ā
Response to the mercy flights home has been huge. Nine Air New Zealand flights from Sydney sold out within 15 minutes of going on sale on Monday morning.
āWe would love to be able to bring more Kiwis home to their families, but weāre limited by the availability of (quarantine) spots,ā Air New Zealand executive Leanne Geraghty said.
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āOur teams have worked tirelessly with the government over the weekend to get these managed return flights up and running so we can reconnect Kiwis with their loved ones.
āWe recognise this is a very stressful and emotional time for those customers wishing to return from NSW, and weāre doing everything we can to get them home as quickly and as safely as possible.ā
Ardernās government has also mandated pre-departure testing for all travellers from Australia as an additional safety measure to prevent an outbreak in Aotearoa.
NZ has not recorded any community transmission since February.
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