When the bubble bursts
IT seemed optimistic, to many, to be enthusing about a ‘‘transtasman bubble’’ so soon after New Zealand emerged from the difficult but (relatively) brief period of Covid19 lockdown.
Businesses and the tourism industry, understandably, were particularly keen to reopen twoway travel between Australia and here as soon as possible to bounce back from the dark economic days of AprilMay.
In May, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she thought a transtasman bubble by September was ‘‘realistic’’. A month later, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was bullish about the chances of it opening even earlier. And as recently as July 3, Australian Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the bubble was still on track.
While Covid19 appeared to be spiralling in some of our other key tourism markets, notably the United Kingdom, the transtasman neighbours seemed to be tracking nicely towards eradication, and both prepared to help each other out in the spirit of the Anzacs.
But that has all come to a screaming halt, and the chaos raging in Victoria right now suggests hopes of allowing travel between Australia and here as soon as September were utterly fanciful.
Other states are having isolated issues and have either delayed loosening some restrictions or introduced new rules on gatherings and interstate travel.
Victoria, however, has been forced back into drastic measures as it finds itself at the epicentre of a new Covid19 wave. Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a state of disaster on top of a state of emergency, and a lockdown that is slightly less restrictive than New Zealand’s but still fairly comprehensive has been declared, including a curfew for Melbourne.
Active cases in the state have leaped to 6500 — many are ‘‘mystery cases’’, meaning it cannot be determined how they contracted the virus — and there were 13 deaths on Monday.
Understandably, the concept of a transtasman bubble has been shaken to its core.
Ms Ardern has said the bubble would not be in place ‘‘any time soon’’ due to the resurgence of Covid19 in parts of Australia.
‘‘One of the things that we set as part of our criteria is anywhere where we have quarantinefree travel, they have to be free of community transmission for a period of time — 28 days,’’ she said.
‘‘That is going to take a long time for Australia to get back to that place, so that will be on the backburner for some time.’’
The transtasman bubble is important, obviously. Resuming full trading and tourism relations with our neighbours will be a massive boost for the New Zealand economy.
But we must not jump the gun. We must be absolutely certain the borders remain secure. The Government is holding firm, and so must we.
AND ANOTHER THING
In the words of more than a few moderately shellshocked Otago sporting fans: how ’bout them Nuggets?
The Otago men’s basketball team’s charge to a national title at the weekend had the whiff of the charming and the romantic about it.
Considering the Nuggets had been dormant for six years, and as recently as May were not even certain they would take part in the revised postCovid national competition, they did marvellously well to claim victory.
The circumstances — a team in recess, a global pandemic, no home games, a couple of the best teams pulling out, the first draft for a major code — were perhaps the most unusual in the history of New Zealand sport, but this achievement carries no asterisk.
Special praise must be reserved for talismanic coach Brent Matehaere and driving force Angela Ruske. We hope they will get a chance to do it all again next year.