Push for South Pacific travel bubble, but federal government says there is ‘no timeframe’

While Ms Berejiklian’s call for a rethink on lengthy delays to all international travel was criticised by the NSW opposition, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he would also be open to a travel bubble.

Much of the Pacific is considered an “orange zone” by Victoria, mostly because those countries do not have a “robust community testing framework”, Mr Andrews said, but he acknowledged they did not have high death or hospitalisation rates.

However, NSW deputy opposition leader Yasmin Catley said Ms Berejiklian needed to put coronavirus health advice ahead of international travel.

“Gladys Berejiklian has decided to break with that advice and start beating the drum for more international arrivals coming into Australia,” Ms Catley said.

“We can’t just toss out the advice of health experts and jeopardise all the hard work and sacrifices we’ve made so far keeping our community safe.”

State and commonwealth leaders will meet at national cabinet on Friday, where they are anticipated to discuss the international traveller caps.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday said the federal government had been considering opening up to the Pacific Islands for months, and premiers had been briefed.

“The challenge is, though, is that the health systems in those countries are obviously different to what it is in Australia, and the testing regimes are not what they are in Australia,” Mr Morrison said.

“That’s to be expected. So that does create a bit of uncertainty that we have to be mindful of.”

Tourism & Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said she was “very keen” to see a Pacific bubble open to Australia, given the tourism sector had lost billions during the pandemic.

“Make no mistake, domestic tourism cannot fill the gap that is left by international tourism,” Ms Osmond said.

“I would say, though, that the people who would be the biggest losers out of us having a Pacific Bubble at this point in time would probably be Queensland because people may very well decide that it’s easier to go to Fiji than perhaps it is than Queensland.”