Ardern in emergency AUS Cabinet Trans Tasman Bubble talk

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had accepted Australian leader Scott Morrison’s invitation to video call into his ministerial Cabinet meeting.

It was the first time a New Zealand leader had attended a meeting of Australia’s cabinet since World War II.

The ditch

Australians and New Zealanders travel across the ditch more than they do anywhere else, Ardern said.

She said New Zealand was Australia’s second largest source of tourists after China, with 1.2 million visitors last year and 1.6 million Aussies visited New Zealand.

“We both stand to benefit from getting travel up and running again.”

Ardern said there were around 75,000 Australians in NZ and more than half a million Kiwis in Australia.

“We’re also Australia’s largest export market by number of exporting firms, so the case for increasing economic relations when safe is clear.”

Safety first

Ardern said any travel agreement between Australia and New Zealand would prioritise safety.

She said the meeting was still underway but said the discussion was only possible as a result of the worldleading results on both sides of the Tasman to get the virus under control.

“I do think we should both be proud of the efforts that have been made.

“An Australia-New Zealand bubble would mean people from both countries being confident of travelling between the nations without having to quarantine - but was still some time off,” she said.

NZ and Aus for now

New Zealand has been urged to include the Pacific Islands in any proposed trans-Tasman bubble.

Ardern has said the government was focused on travel between New Zealand and Australia rather than with other Pacific nations for now, because of the “huge risk” if the coronavirus found its way into Pacific Island nations that were yet untouched by the virus.

Australia’s New South Wales state, Gladys Berejiklian, said: “If we can establish a hub between New Zealand and Australia I think that would be a very positive move.”

Qantas Airways Ltd chief executive Alan Joyce said regular flights between Australia and New Zealand could begin soon after domestic routes were reopened.

“It could be a very good model for the international market opening up in phases,” the chief of Australia’s largest airline told reporters.