After the NZ/Aus travel bubble faced criticism last week, when it was revealed that Kiwi visitors would still need to quarantine upon return to New Zealand, there are fresh concerns that the bubble is facing an imminent ‘burst’.
Since the first flights arrived into Sydney last Friday, some Kiwi’s have allegedly made their way into Victoria and Western Australia, which are two states who are not officially part of the travel bubble arrangement.
Some travellers have even made their way into Tasmania. The Premiers of both Victoria and Western Australia have complained, however it is believed that arrivals into WA from NZ are all undergoing their mandatory quarantine.
WA Premier Mark McGowan stated that although arrivals from New Zealand were doing the right thing, they were taking up space that returning West Australians could be using.
However, the opposition leader has said that there are plenty of Perth hotels standing empty, and the cap could easily be increased.
In Victoria, although Premier Dan Andrews has expressed his disappointment at the situation, the DHS (Department of Health Services) website states that there are no rules restricting new arrivals.
"Currently the Victorian borders are open. If you are travelling from New Zealand and have passed all relevant immigration and biosecurity requirements as established by the Federal Government, New South Wales Government and Northern Territory Government, then you are able to travel to Victoria. You do not need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Victoria.”
There are no hard borders for entry into Victoria – nobody wants to go there anyway. However, Andrews has stated that they were asked if the state wanted to be a part of the bubble, but denied it until a later date.
Dan Andrews has expressed his disappointment at NZ travellers entering Victoria.
“We’re disappointed this has happened, given that I had written to the prime minister on this very issue the previous day, saying at some point we will join that New Zealand/Australia travel bubble, but it is not appropriate now,” Andrews said.
The issue has sparked a bit of a backlash, as the government states Victoria was aware of and present at all the discussions.
It is believed that there are 52 travellers from New Zealand currently in Victoria, with most of them staying in private homes, most likely with family or relatives.
Qantas and Jetstar hastened to add flights from NZ to Sydney after the bubble announcement.
There are 22 adults isolating in hotels in Perth, and one child staying with family. A further five have found their way to Tasmania, who also have strict border controls, and are currently also in hotel quarantine.
There are calls to make passenger manifests more readily available to government bodies to identify and manage incoming travellers.
Many have called the entire ‘travel bubble’ a disaster, though there have been no cases or risks yet identified.
There were emotional scenes at Sydney airport last week, as some families were reunited after months apart. (Hang on a minute, we've just got something in our eye).
We’ve got to start somewhere, right? What do you think, would you take advantage of a New Zealand travel bubble?
Jenna Rank
Jenna has visited over 50 countries across the world, and hopes to visit 100 by 2025
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