The Australian prime minister told reporters a safe travel zone between Australia and New Zealand is “still some time away”, but said a trans-Tasman bubble is “part of the road back”.
“We could see that happening but not something that’s about to happen next week,” Morrison said.
The prime minister said Australia and New Zealand are “working cooperatively together”, with today’s meeting offering an opportunity for Ardern to share the experience in New Zealand with Morrison and his state and territory colleagues.
“I thought that would be of great value to my colleagues so they could swap notes on a range of different restrictions, on the economic impact and things of that nature,” Morrison said.
“The prime minister and I have for several weeks been talking about a safe travel zone between Australia and New Zealand. It is still some time away.”
Speaking to NZ media on Tuesday, Ardern said easing travel restrictions between Australia and New Zealand would happen “as soon as it is safe to do so”.