Cook Is ‘air bridge’ plan closer

AUCKLAND: The Cook Islands Government says a quarantinefree ‘‘air bridge’’ with New Zealand should be announced within a week.

But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would not be drawn on dates, saying any indication of a timeline is purely speculative.

Cook Islands deputy prime minister Mark Brown said they had been in discussions with New Zealand authorities to progress an air bridge between the two countries, the latest talks occurring last night.

‘‘I believe it was very encouraging,’’ Mr Brown told Newstalk ZB yesterday.

‘‘It’s on the back of my own discussions with Deputy Prime Minister [Winston] Peters last week about the importance of opening what we’re calling an air bridge between the Cook

Islands and New Zealand . . . and the importance of that for us for our economy.’’

Mr Brown said New Zealand passport holders who had been in New Zealand for at least 30 days would be eligible to travel to the Cook Islands.

He said the Government had already been working with Air New Zealand and Auckland Airport on ‘‘dedicated arrival gates’’ and separation between travellers going between New Zealand and the Cook Islands and other international travellers.

‘‘We've been quite persistent . . . by necessity for us.

‘‘Tourism is a huge part of our economy — up to 70% — we've got 45% of our workforce that is on the wage subsidy with no other support which is going to end by September.’’

He said it was imperative for the Cook Islands that it had an air bridge working and that some sort of tourism was starting before September to enable families and businesses to survive.

Mr Brown said it was not just about tourism, but also about the health of the island residents.

‘‘Also for a humanitarian perspective, allowing travellers between our countries without the need for the 14day supervised quarantine.

‘‘That’s having a big impact on people who need to go to New Zealand for medical services, elective surgeries, cancer checkups and that sort of thing.’’

A statement from Ms Ardern’s office yesterday suggested no timeline had been established, and details were still being worked out.

‘‘The Prime Minister spoke to the Cook Islands prime minister yesterday to convey that she has asked officials to work on timelines for reopening with realm countries,’’ a spokesman for Ms Ardern said.

‘‘There are no set dates yet, and any speculation at this stage would be very premature.

‘‘The No 1 priority will continue to be the safety of both New Zealand and Realm countries.’’

An Auckland Airport spokeswoman said the facility was committed to working with the Ministry of Health and government agencies to protect New Zealand against the spread of Covid19.

‘‘We are supportive of reopening the border for quarantinefree travel between New Zealand and other lowrisk countries, when the Government decides it is safe to do so,’’ she said.

Air New Zealand also responded positively and said it was looking forward to ‘‘providing safe travel between the two nations to more of our customers when possible,’’.

The Cook Islands Tourism Corporation said the islands were desperate for quarantinefree travel between the two countries.

‘‘New Zealanders comprise twothirds of our international visitors — and the reality is they may well provide 100% of our visitors for quite some time,’’ corporation Australasian general manager Graeme West said yesterday..

‘‘With tourism responsible for over 70% of the nation’s GDP, our economy has been decimated since we closed our borders in March.’’ — The New Zealand Herald/RNZ