A new plan to extend the Trans-Tasman travel bubble to include Tonga and Fiji in the Pacific islands has been part of a meeting between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to discuss allowing quarantine-free travel to other countries.
The details of the plan have yet to be released.
The two-day talks began in Queenstown on Sunday, the first time the two leaders talk in person since Covid-19 closed borders in 2020.
Ardern said she looked forward to “the next stage of writing the rulebook” on how both countries would approach reopening to the world after Covid.
“We are supporting our Pacific family and the idea of a bubble that goes beyond New Zealand and Australia is a real possibility,” Morrison told reporters.
The revelation came after New Zealand’s pause on the quarantine-free travel bubble with Victoria has been extended for a further seven days, with the Australian state going into lockdown to contain a growing Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne.
Tonga government said it planned to open its boarder to foreign nationals in March 2022.
It also revealed its plan for passengers to pay for their quarantine costs in Tonga which includes paying up to $4,000 if they will be isolated at Tanoa International Hotel.
