Kiwis may be able to enjoy a summer holiday to the Gold Coast as Queensland will reopen its borders to New Zealand on Saturday, the state premier has announced.
Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement on the Today Show in Australia, saying Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young had advised it was safe to open Queensland's borders to Aotearoa.
"Visitors coming in from New Zealand from 1am tomorrow are welcome into Queensland, and we are hoping that eventually New Zealand will not have to do that hotel quarantine upon return, and then there would be free-flowing movement between the two," Palaszczuk said.
Palaszczuk said the decision was made after New Zealand reached 28 days of zero community transmission.
"Dr Young advised me yesterday that she was more than happy to allow New Zealanders to come into Queensland," she said.
"It is a wonderful time of year to allow that to happen as well. All the stars are aligned at the moment."
Air New Zealand currently operates six flights each week between Auckland and Brisbane, all of which require quarantine on arrival in Brisbane.
"We are working through what this latest announcement around travel to Queensland from New Zealand means for Air NZ and our customers. This includes working with Queensland state authorities to ensure we can operate ‘quarantine-free’ flights for those whose travel originates in New Zealand, as well as ‘quarantine’ flights for those whose travel commences outside New Zealand," a spokesperson for the airline said.
Palaszczuk also posted the announcement on Twitter, saying Queensland is home to more New Zealanders than any other state in Australia.
"With Kiwis able to travel to Queensland from tomorrow, families can finally be reunited in time for Christmas," Palaszczuk said.
