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Heather du Plessis-Allan: What's wrong with Kiwis flying around Australia?

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 20 Oct 2020, 7:27PM

Heather du Plessis-Allan: What's wrong with Kiwis flying around Australia?

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Tue, 20 Oct 2020, 7:27PM

Am I missing something? Because I’m confused as to why there is a fuss over Kiwi travellers making their way from Sydney across Australia. 

I can’t see any evidence that these kiwis are breaking rules, and the outcry over the ditch would lead you to believe they are sneaking over borders when they’re not allowed. 

From what I can see, they are allowed for the most part. 

Take for example Victoria.  We have had reports that as many as 65 kiwis who flew into New South Wales, then made their way across the border to Victoria. 

That prompted the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to lose his mind publicly and apparently write to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison requesting a ban on Kiwis boarding flights to Victoria. 

Meanwhile, his state’s health website makes it clear Kiwis are allowed across the border.  

“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.” 

The best explanation for this is that every state knew exactly what to expect once NSW opened its border to Kiwis, but the political leaders are kicking up a song and dance for political gain. 

For the record, I hope this doesn’t derail the one-way trans-Tasman bubble.  I suspect it won’t.  In fact, I suspect that as long as kiwis don’t bring Covid into any of those states – and really the chances of them taking Covid from New Zealand is quite slim – it will actually speed up the other states joining this limited bubble. 

We’ve just seen that happen today with South Australia opening its borders to Kiwis. 

And I hope that it starts to put some pressure on our government to reciprocate.  I suspect it might.  There’s no pressure at the moment I think because we’ve been distracted by our full-noise election, but the longer we watch Kiwis fly to Australia safely and hug their family in airports, the closer we get to Christmas and want our loved ones to come home, the more pressure our government will be under to do the same.

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