New Zealand Travel Bubble Announcement

[DC3]

Passengers from NZ detained in Melbourne:

Passengers from New Zealand caught connecting flight to Melbourne

Seventeen passengers from New Zealand have travelled on to Melbourne, after arriving in Sydney under the trans-Tasman bubble arrangements.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Pushka]

My son flew international last week on Qatar. Business Award seat. All passengers must wear a mask plus a face shield during Queuing/ boarding/disembark. Y passengers must wear them the whole flight except when eating or drinking. J passengers only as per above or when moving to the Lav. No choice.

Post automatically merged: Oct 16, 2020

Passengers from NZ detained in Melbourne:

Passengers from New Zealand caught connecting flight to Melbourne

Seventeen passengers from New Zealand have travelled on to Melbourne, after arriving in Sydney under the trans-Tasman bubble arrangements.

www.abc.net.au

There is a touch of irony here.

 

[dajop]

Passengers from NZ detained in Melbourne:

Passengers from New Zealand caught connecting flight to Melbourne

Seventeen passengers from New Zealand have travelled on to Melbourne, after arriving in Sydney under the trans-Tasman bubble arrangements.

www.abc.net.au

That's it. Australia has officially lost the plot. You can get into NSW and not quarantine, so you can just get in a car and drive across the border.

Dan has said in his pressers that this is acceptable - i.e. travellers coming into the state via SYD from NZ.

 

[DC3]

That's it. Australia has officially lost the plot. You can get into NSW and not quarantine, so you can just get in a car and drive across the border.

Dan has said in his pressers that this is acceptable - i.e. travellers coming into the state via SYD from NZ.

Yes, but who let them into Oz? VIC premier, not.

 

[dajop]

Yes, but who let them into Oz? VIC premier, not.

Australian Border Force. Then they would have hightailed it across to the domestic terminal for their flight, like other domestic travellers to MEL. I wasn't aware there were entry restrictions into VIC from NSW. What is the difference between getting on a train or hiring a car down to MEL? Vic has no restrictions on travel from other states into VIC. Apparently they are going to be sent back to Sydney. As I said, the country really has lost the plot.

New Zealanders caught flouting travel bubble rules

Seventeen Kiwi travellers arrived in Melbourne after slipping out of Sydney on day one of the trans-Tasman travel bubble.

www.theage.com.au

 

[DC3]

And this is a sort-of-a-bubble?

Maybe the next version will be even better.

Edit: A resourceful lot, those Kiwis.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Can anyone explain why flights can only be to NSW and NT and not for example the QLD and WA who have no current community transmission of CV?

 

[dajop]

Actually in later versions of the 14 kiwis entering Victoria, it mentions a DHHS saying that they expect they would not be allowed to board flights at Sydney. This directly contradicts Dan’s answers at the pressers.

BINGO!!! This is the whole problem. Who is running the state Dan and his Cabinet or Sir Humphrey Appleby and Sir Arnold in the DHHS?

 

[RooFlyer]

BINGO!!! This is the whole problem. Who is running the state Dan and his Cabinet or Sir Humphrey Appleby and Sir Arnold in the DHHS?

"Minister, it would be very courageous for you to make a decision on that,"

What on earth is wrong with the Kiwis going down to Melbourne?

I assume there would be no issue if they were Australian citizens? If so, what is the health imperative that Victoria detained them?

Can anyone explain why flights can only be to NSW and NT and not for example the QLD and WA who have no current community transmission of CV?

I think it comes down to not being able to do more than 2 things at once.


Note that Hobart Airport received over 100 international arrivals yesterday (not NZ) - into hotel quarantine

 

[jakeseven7]

Can anyone explain why flights can only be to NSW and NT and not for example the QLD and WA who have no current community transmission of CV?

Because international flights / bubbles will only be made available to states / territories who have signed up to the national set of health definitions that were put together with input from all state CHO’s and tabled at NC.

They determine things like what is a hot spot etc - so that it avoids states overreacting and ‘slamming their borders down’ if a couple of inevitable cases pop up (which we all know they will, repeatedly), thereby causing international headache scenarios happening eg one state decides to close to NZ, another is open etc. It also applies domestically.

NT, NSW, ACT have already signed up. So they get the ability to have flights. SA is about to sign up and little Tassie is reportedly close too. UPDATE: VIC have indicated they will once they move through their restriction easing plan as well.

 

[jb747]

Perhaps WA and Qld like the option of emulating the North Korean ‘hermit kingdom’.

That's it. Australia has officially lost the plot. You can get into NSW and not quarantine, so you can just get in a car and drive across the border.

Dan has said in his pressers that this is acceptable - i.e. travellers coming into the state via SYD from NZ.

I suspect it’s a case of the right and left hands not talking to each other. There’s nothing to stop anyone coming into Victoria from NSW. But once in, it’s somewhat harder to leave.

I wonder how long it will be before the NSW border is opened on their side. Presumably, it will simultaneously close to the south...

 

[serfty]

I suspect it’s a case of the right and left hands not talking to each other.

The ABC article has been updated:

But overnight Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) confirmed there were 17 passengers, and that the department "does not have legal authority to detain the travellers on arrival".

Seems the right and left hands have found a way they believe will disassociate any any 'blame'.

 

[jakeseven7]

Because international flights / bubbles will only be made available to states / territories who have signed up to the national set of health definitions that were put together with input from all state CHO’s and tabled at NC.

They determine things like what is a hot spot etc - so that it avoids states overreacting and ‘slamming their borders down’ if a couple of inevitable cases pop up (which we all know they will, repeatedly), thereby causing international headache scenarios happening eg one state decides to close to NZ, another is open etc. It also applies domestically.

NT, NSW, ACT have already signed up. So they get the ability to have flights. SA is about to sign up and little Tassie is reportedly close too. UPDATE: VIC have indicated they will once they move through their restriction easing plan as well.

My apologies to our VIC friends, but VIC said they will be a signatory once they work through their restriction easing program as well.
QLD is unknown and now can't do anything as they are in caretaker mode...
WA is the only hard hold out although events of this week with the WA CHO and Health Minister retracting their support for WA domestic border restrictions may well change this.

 

[TheRealTMA]

The ABC article has been updated:Seems the right and left hands have found a way they believe will disassociate any any 'blame'.

This is the comment from Victoria on why they were not allowed to enter Victoria.

Andrews says health officials still waiting on NZ passenger information from Border Force
By Kate Lahey
The 17 people from New Zealand who travelled into Victoria from Sydney left Melbourne Airport within minutes of arriving and are now in the Victorian community, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed.
Victorian authorities do not know where the Kiwis are and have sought advice from federal authorities, Mr Andrews said.
"At around 5.30 yesterday evening, 17 people from New Zealand, having travelled on an international flight from New Zealand to Sydney, were then allowed to board a plane and travel to Melbourne," Mr Andrews said.
"They didn't spend very long at the airport. They left the airport within only minutes, really, of having arrived. Our officers have absolutely no power to stop someone, to detain someone in those circumstances."
He expressed his frustration with the situation, saying "surely our systems are better than this".
"We are still waiting - I am not sure why we're waiting, but we are still waiting for Australian Border Force to provide us with the passenger cards for each of those 17 people," Mr Andrews said.
"As soon as we get that detail, we will be visiting each of those people and making sure that they are fully up to date, as it were, when it comes to the rules, the regulations, the structures that we have in Victoria.
"I stand here every day making sure every Victorian knows they can't freely move around their own state for the best of reasons and at the same time we have people being allowed in from another country and we were the last ones to find out about it. It doesn't make any sense."

 

[Gremlin]

Because international flights / bubbles will only be made available to states / territories who have signed up to the national set of health definitions that were put together with input from all state CHO’s and tabled at NC.

Actually, that's not true.

AHPPC were asked to formulate a view on a hotspot definition. A draft paper was produced. Its conclusions were reported on in various articles including below

New hotspot definition aims to carve a path for border opening

The expert medical panel advising the national cabinet on the coronavirus pandemic has drawn up a new definition of a "COVID-free zone".

www.smh.com.au

The definition in the draft paper is very much aligned to that which Qld have adopted - no community transmission in the past 28 days.

Upon review of the draft, the Federal Government no longer requested the AHPPC paper be tabled at National Cabinet.

Separate to this process, the Federal Department of Health produced their own definition of "hotspot", which has been adopted by the Federal Government for the purposes of standardising Federal support. For the record, it is a FEDERAL definition, not a NATIONAL definition. It has never been taken to National Cabinet and certainly never agreed as a national standard of a hotspot. It was implemented as a benchmark for the determining if and when the Commonwealth would provide additional funding and support for the relevant state. In fact, its full description is "Commonwealth Assisted Hotspot". The paper supporting it is below.

https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/09/listing-areas-of-covid-19-local-transmission-as-hotspots-for-the-purpose-of-provision-of-commonwealth-support.pdf

Note that this was already in effect when the AHPPC were asked to produce their draft paper. Had the AHPPC felt that it was appropriate to align these definitions, I'm sure that they could have easily adopted them. But they didn't. I suspect it's not because the entire AHPPC is incompetent.

 

[jakeseven7]

Actually, that's not true.

AHPPC were asked to formulate a view on a hotspot definition. A draft paper was produced. Its conclusions were reported on in various articles including below

New hotspot definition aims to carve a path for border opening

The expert medical panel advising the national cabinet on the coronavirus pandemic has drawn up a new definition of a "COVID-free zone".

www.smh.com.au

The definition in the draft paper is very much aligned to that which Qld have adopted - no community transmission in the past 28 days.

Upon review of the draft, the Federal Government no longer requested the AHPPC paper be tabled at National Cabinet.

Separate to this process, the Federal Department of Health produced their own definition of "hotspot", which has been adopted by the Federal Government for the purposes of standardising Federal support. For the record, it is a FEDERAL definition, not a NATIONAL definition. It has never been taken to National Cabinet and certainly never agreed as a national standard of a hotspot. It was implemented as a benchmark for the determining if and when the Commonwealth would provide additional funding and support for the relevant state. In fact, its full description is "Commonwealth Assisted Hotspot". The paper supporting it is below.

https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/09/listing-areas-of-covid-19-local-transmission-as-hotspots-for-the-purpose-of-provision-of-commonwealth-support.pdf

Note that this was already in effect when the AHPPC were asked to produce their draft paper. Had the AHPPC felt that it was appropriate to align these definitions, I'm sure that they could have easily adopted them. But they didn't. I suspect it's not because the entire AHPPC is incompetent.

That's funny, our QLD CHO said that all the CHO's had input into it and were consulted a part of the process. Maybe not all of them were?

 

[TheRealTMA]

More on the New Zealanders who travelled to Victoria.

Key to all Victorian restrictions easing early

Melburnians will wake to new freedoms on Monday morning as the state starts to move out of strict lockdown, with a slew of others planned for November 1.

www.news.com.au

 

[jakeseven7]

More on the New Zealanders who travelled to Victoria.

Key to all Victorian restrictions easing early

Melburnians will wake to new freedoms on Monday morning as the state starts to move out of strict lockdown, with a slew of others planned for November 1.

www.news.com.au

Talk about click bait headline he didn’t say that... sigh. No news

 

[TheRealTMA]

Talk about click bait headline he didn’t say that... sigh. No news

Well, who am I to criticise News Corp reports.

”
'If I have to do it, I will': Andrews' border warning

Natalie Brown
Right at the end of his press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews was asked whether his making it "very clear" that Victoria wasn't part of the travel bubble was "the same as saying don't let people on planes".
"Well, I read it to be the same thing. We're not part of the bubble, these 17 people have turned up, that means something's gone wrong. It didn't go wrong in Victoria, it went wrong somewhere else," he responded.
"Again, we can't change that. Let's just make sure we reach out to these people, and that we don't have any more people arrive in the same circumstances.
"There's a very clear letter from me to the Prime Minister saying we're not part of this, I've then written again today…and said look, let's just all be clear, there's an issue here, we have to deal with it.
"And I made it clear, I don't want to close the Victorian border. But if I have to do it, I will. Because I'm just not having people turn up here from another country, and the first we find out about is when they're already here.
"And we've got no powers, because they've come from a place that is really low risk, but this is a game about very low risks at the moment."

 

[jakeseven7]

Well, who am I to criticise News Corp reports.

”
'If I have to do it, I will': Andrews' border warning

Natalie Brown
Right at the end of his press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews was asked whether his making it "very clear" that Victoria wasn't part of the travel bubble was "the same as saying don't let people on planes".
"Well, I read it to be the same thing. We're not part of the bubble, these 17 people have turned up, that means something's gone wrong. It didn't go wrong in Victoria, it went wrong somewhere else," he responded.
"Again, we can't change that. Let's just make sure we reach out to these people, and that we don't have any more people arrive in the same circumstances.
"There's a very clear letter from me to the Prime Minister saying we're not part of this, I've then written again today…and said look, let's just all be clear, there's an issue here, we have to deal with it.
"And I made it clear, I don't want to close the Victorian border. But if I have to do it, I will. Because I'm just not having people turn up here from another country, and the first we find out about is when they're already here.
"And we've got no powers, because they've come from a place that is really low risk, but this is a game about very low risks at the moment."

They conveniently left out the part where he said that Vic would become a part of the NZ bubble soon. Which as an aside is great news!