Cabinet has agreed in principle to establish a travel bubble with Australia early next year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

She says ministers have discussed travel bubbles with Cook Islands and Australia this afternoon.

A travel bubble with Australia can be expected in the first quarter of 2021 “pending confirmation from the Australian Cabinet and no significant change in the circumstances in either country”, she says.

Officials have been working on preparations for that, Ardern says, while acknowledging that one of the criteria was 28 days of free of community transmission.

Clear plans will need to be made in the event of a community outbreak, she says, with enough space for potential returnees if borders shut again and arrangements for air crew and airlines.

A date on a trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel bubble will be announced in the new year.

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said the federal government welcomed New Zealand’s announcement, describing it as the “second half of the equation”.

Hunt said the federal government would “absolutely” approve the agreement, and that increased travel between the two countries would benefit both economies.

“We consciously opened up Australia to people coming from NZ because their case numbers were negligible and we knew there would come a time when our case numbers would give them confidence,” he said.

“Now this gives the chance for New Zealanders [and] Australians to visit New Zealand … without having to quarantine.

“It’s the first step on a return to international normality.”

Hunt said an agreement would be easy to reach with their counterparts, as some Australian states have already welcomed New Zealand travellers.

New Zealand’s decision to allow a travel bubble with Australia follows Queensland’s decision last week to open its border to the country.

All other states had already opened to New Zealand travellers, although Western Australia requires 14 days’ quarantine on arrival.

Since October, New Zealanders have been able to travel to Australia without going into quarantine in certain states, but not the other way around.

Ardern says there is more to work through, including segregation of staff and making sure contingency plans are in place, and these were key to finalising any arrangement.

Minister in charge of Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins says he will be heading to Auckland airport tomorrow to look at how they will be doing the operational separation of passengers.

“Airlines have indicated they do need a notice period – you’ll be aware they grounded a lot of their fleets. They have a lot of crew not currently working so they need the opportunity to bring them back and get them current again.

“We have been clear we want to see separation between crews who are working in the safe zone versus crews working elsewhere, so that requires logistical rearranging for them.”

The Cook Islands are expected to be available for quarantine-free travel first, Ardern says.

Over the weekend, New Zealand and the Cook Islands said they agreed to open a quarantine-free travel bubble by end of March next year.

More work is needed to ensure there are precautions in place that give the government confidence New Zealanders can safely travel there, she says.

“I think New Zealanders desperately need a break. Of course we want to progress these issues including quarantine-free travel but we haven’t taken risks before that mean New Zealanders won’t be able to keep their freedom and I certainly don’t want to take those risks right now.”

Hipkins will be providing an update tomorrow about a resurgence plan and what will be in place over the summer.

He urges people to continue sticking to the same public health measures.

-RNZ