What A Trans-Tasman ‘Bubble’ Could Look Like For Australia And New Zealand

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday, May 25, that the country would stay at alert level 2 until Cabinet members can review progress on June 8 and officially decide—sometime within the next four weeks but no later than June 22—whether or not to make the move to alert level 1.

“Cabinet today discussed the alert level 2 settings and the pathway to move to level 1 as soon as safely possible,” said Ardern. “Last week, I said we would regularly adjust our settings at level 2 to allow more activity to take place when the advice and data says it’s safe. We want to get our economy moving quickly without losing the gains we have made to date.”

During the press conference, Ardern praised New Zealanders for following the rules of each alert level and maintaining social distancing measures, efforts she said helped to prevent an upswing in cases as the country continues to open and allow for more social activities. People will now be able to meet in groups of up to 100 instead of just 10, as had originally been the case during alert level 2.

“That is very good news and is counter to what many countries overseas have experienced as they loosen their restrictions, with many having seen spikes in cases,” Ardern said.

At this time, borders are still closed to foreign visitors, although it’s possible that could change as conditions continue to improve around the world. Earlier this month, Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison discussed the possibility of a Trans-Tasman “bubble,” which would allow international travel to resume between the two countries.

“A trans-Tasman Covid-safe travel zone would be mutually beneficial, assisting our trade and economic recovery, helping kick-start the tourism and transport sectors, enhancing sporting contacts, and reuniting families and friends,” the Prime Ministers said in a joint statement on May 5. “We need to be cautious as we progress this initiative. Neither country wants to see the virus rebound so it’s essential any such travel zone is safe. Relaxing travel restrictions at an appropriate time will clearly benefit both countries and demonstrates why getting on top of the virus early is the best strategy for economic recovery,” the Prime Ministers said.

Ardern later told RNZ (Radio New Zealand) that it’s still going to be some time before all the details are worked out between the two countries, especially since Australia is still struggling to reopen its own interstate borders.

“In Australia they still have border controls internally so the states haven't opened up to each other yet. So obviously we'd expect to see some of those issues solved before necessarily opening up to New Zealand,” said Ardern.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, however, Morrison is keen to add certain Australian states to the Trans-Tasman “bubble” before others if necessary. New South Wales and Victoria—home of Sydney and Melbourne, respectively—and the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) have never instituted interstate border closures, while Queensland’s Premier has indicated plans to reopen the state’s borders as late as September. Leaders from South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have said they’re prepared to wait even longer.

As far as the “bubble” itself is concerned, the plan is to start slow before potentially expanding it beyond Australia and New Zealand to include neighboring Pacific island nations that have also managed to get a handle on the spread of Covid-19. One country hoping to get involved is Fiji, which, along with Australia and New Zealand, closed its international borders back in March, though they’re expected to reopen at the end of June. As of right now, it seems Australian Cabinet members support the move, while Ardern is concerned about incoming flights to Fiji from other parts of the world if its borders are to reopen as planned. While it’s likely going to be a while before we know all the details, it’ll certainly be worth the wait if the countries involved can provide a travel zone that’s safe enough to protect the locals and those who want to visit.