Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison seems to be talking the right talk when it comes to potentially opening up some areas of New Zealand with some Australian regions.
Morrison made the announcement following a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday last week. “ScoMo” said the issue came up on Friday at a meeting of the National Cabinet, which includes all state and territory premiers and chief ministers.
The main point pressed was an increase in the number of returning Australians that could be accomodated in the quarantine facilities but Mr Morrison suggested that if the two countries could get to a point where people from areas without outbreaks could travel without needing to quarantine in hotels, it would further free up spaces in the system.
For example, the whole of the South Island, that’s an area where there is no COVID.
So if we could get to a situation soon where those coming home from New Zealand are able to enter Australia without going into a 14-day quarantine … we see that as another way of enabling more and more Australians to come home.
This could be very good news for New Zealand. Freeing up quarantine beds seems like a logical place to start opening up the borders.
Grant Robertson may think that the economy is all good and the recession is over, but one look at our touristy towns and it is plain to see that he is simply deluded.
Queenstown would normally be humming along nicely at this time of year. But all we see are ‘Vacancy’ signs, and those hotels that are managing to drag in a few tourists have had to drastically reduce their nightly rates to compete as Kiwi families are more likely to stay in AirBnB type properties or in cabins at the campgrounds rather than hotels.
I spoke to one hotel manager on Queen’s Birthday weekend; a time when the MSM were telling everyone that Queenstown was full and everything looked rosy. His hotel did indeed have all his rooms booked, but he wasn’t too enthused as the room rates were roughly 30% of what they would normally be at that time of the year. And, come the Monday night, he was empty again.
Of course, winter is also the time that New Zealanders like to get away to the sunnier climes. Half of Queenstown seems to disappear during the middle of winter, jetting off to Fiji, Raro or the Gold Coast for a dose of vitamin sunshine. Normally the carpark at the Queenstown airport will be completely chocka about now with the vehicles of locals who had managed to escape the cold. On Sunday, it was virtually empty.
So what does our Prime Minister have to say about freeing up travel with areas in Australia, or the Islands, that have similar — zero — COVID rates to our South Island? Ummm, well nothing really. It’s “tricky” I guess.
How about our Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis? Nope, no idea if he’s even alive. Has anybody seen him? I imagine he is still drawing his salary so he’s probably not dead yet but you’d never know. Last thing we heard from him was a vile rant about how awful he thinks travel agents are.
Well, let’s hope Scott Morrison has more luck freeing things up a little. I reckon what he needs to do is just make it look like the whole idea was Jacinda’s idea and then she will claim it.
The timing is right after all. Imagine how happy people will be if a few days before the election she was to announce that if you vote Red you will be allowed to escape the country for a few days?
Hmmm, now that’s an idea. I wonder how much it will cost to stay in Rarotonga for the next three years?
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