14th December, 2020
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that New Zealand is working to establish two-way “travel bubbles” with Australia and the Cook Islands that could come into force in the first quarter of 2021.
New Zealand’s border has been closed to all but residents and citizens, with a few exemptions, since March 19.
Ardern’s cabinet had “agreed in principle” to allow quarantine-free travel with Australia but there was still work to do, she said at a Monday press conference.
She signed an agreement with the prime minister of the Cook Islands to allow quarantine-free travel between the two nations, with dates to be announced in the New Year.
Two-way quarantine-free travel with the Pacific nation, a realm country of New Zealand, would come before Australia’s, Ardern said.
The “trans-Tasman travel bubble” idea has been around since mid-April and would allow Australians and New Zealanders to travel between both countries freely.
The idea still needs to be signed off by Australia’s Government and will only happen if there are no significant changes in the COVID-19 status of both countries, Ardern said.
New Zealanders have been allowed to travel to some parts of Australia since October in a one-way arrangement.