Australia Trans-Tasman bubble farce: 23 Kiwis flew to Perth over closed border

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Western Australia has slammed the Federal Government's management of the trans-Tasman bubble after it emerged 23 New Zealanders flew to Perth despite hard border closures.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said on Sunday that 25 newly-arrived Kiwis, including a child, had flown into Perth overnight.

This number was revised down to 23 on Sunday evening by WA Police, and all have been put into hotel quarantine.

Western Australia is not part of the travel bubble arrangement and has tough border restrictions in place, with very few exemptions.

Mr McGowan said the situation was 'not ideal'.

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More Kiwi passengers slip through to another state outside the trans - Tasman bubble . Three people flew in on Sunday and an additional two arrived on Monday and have been taken to quarantine in “These people will come off our international arrival cap so there will be 23 people less coming from

Trans - Tasman bubble opens as hundreds fly from Auckland to New South Wales. “We still can’t get the cards from Australian Border Force as to who these people are, and where they have Acting Immigration minister Alan Trudge said details of the NZ-NSW travel bubble were discussed at the

'We would prefer better management of these arrangements,' he said.

Mr McGowan called on the Federal Government to provide information about those catching flights across state borders, such as by requiring passenger manifests for incoming flights.

'Those manifests would now be far more helpful in monitoring and controlling people who might come in who may well be from overseas or may well be COVID-positive,' he told ABC News.

Kiwis set to flood Australia as travel bubble with New Zealand begins

New Zealanders will be able to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory from Friday under the bubble recently announced by the Australian government.New Zealanders will be able to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory from Friday under the bubble, which won't require them to go into hotel quarantine.

For all the hype surrounding the trans - Tasman bubble initially, it looks set to kick off with more of a whimper than a hiss and a roar on Friday, with few Kiwis “Officials from Australia and New Zealand are continuing to discuss all aspects of two-way trans - Tasman travel, which New Zealand remains

Nearly 80 New Zealanders fly into Australian states not included in travel bubble . He said they had found 23 of those people at 16 addresses, after receiving the list 12 hours after they arrived. "I don't control the borders , and I don't control what happens at Sydney Airport and I don't think anyone can

The Western Australian Government is considering sending the New Zealand travellers back, and is examining their personal circumstances.

Quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia is limited to New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

However, since the travel bubble opened on Friday, New Zealanders have taken connecting flights to states outside the bubble.

Five New Zealand travellers were found in Tasmania having flown from Sydney to Launceston via the Trans-Tasman bubble, and have been put into mandatory hotel quarantine.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that 55 travellers from New Zealand slipped past authorities at Sydney and flew into Victoria - even though the state never agreed to join the trans-Tasman bubble.

Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) later updated this figure to 52, saying three of the travellers had not crossed the border and remain in New South Wales.

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The New Zealand PM says plans to open up NZ borders to Australians might be "on the backburner for … several months". New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has dismissed the prospect of a trans - Tasman travel bubble with Australia starting "anytime soon".

The Coalition is “very attracted” to the idea of eventually adding Pacific countries to the trans - Tasman bubble – an exclusive travel route expected to be

The embattled Victorian premier said earlier on Sunday that just 23 of those people have been found since he learned of the debacle.

On Friday, New South Wales opened its borders to travellers from New Zealand without the need to quarantine.

But by Saturday authorities informed Victoria that 17 people caught a connecting flight into Melbourne, where borders are not shut to domestic travellers despite the state grappling with a second wave of COVID-19.

The number of travellers has since inflated to 52, of which 21 flew in on Friday and Saturday while the rest came by other modes of transport, the DHHS said in a Sunday evening update.

One has since returned to New South Wales, the DHHS said.

Mr Andrews said his concern is not necessarily that these people will bring coronavirus into Victoria, but that the government wasn't made aware of their arrival.

'No one is alleging that the virus is high in New Zealand,' he said on Sunday.

'It's not. What was concerning that a bunch of people turned up, we didn't know about it. Turned from 17 to 20 to 23 now to 50 something.'

Mr Andrews said he has no plans to close his state, but took aim at the federal government over its 'gold standard' trans-Tasman bubble.

© Provided by Daily Mail Three flights arrived in Sydney on Friday from New Zealand as part of the Trans Tasman travel bubble arranged between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

© Provided by Daily Mail But Kiwis returning home still need to do their 14-day mandatory isolation in secure hotels at a cost of $2,050 (Pictured: NZ PM Jacinda Ardern)

'We got given a list 12 hours after they arrived, that's gold standard apparently. We're having to find these people,' he said.

New Zealand travel bubble causes confusion among Sydney Airport arrivals

Australia's travel bubble with New Zealand has caused plenty of confusion among arrivals in Sydney, with about 100 people catching connecting flights to states that have not signed up to the scheme.Melbourne man Matt Gadsby had been visiting his two-year-old son in New Zealand when the travel corridor with NSW and the Northern Territory was announced.

In one instance, Mr Andrews said the government's tracing proved wrong, and that a passenger who he was told had flown to Melbourne was actually in Byron Bay.

'My advice to Minister Tudge is instead of stubbornly defending this, work with us and let's make sure Victoria's not part of a bubble that we never agreed to be in.'

Mr Andrews insisted he wasn't looking to 'quarrel' with any federal ministers on the matter, and simply wanted it resolved.

He clarified to reporters that he would not close the borders to returning New Zealanders in the coming days, but wanted to know if they were arriving in the state to ensure they were aware of the rules.

'I've got no power to stop them coming here. They will come... I think we can be confident that we will be having a chat with them and they will be welcomed.

'It is just a matter of we have to go through a process and have visibility of who is coming. I don't think that's too much for us to ask.'

Mr Andrews said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had thanked him several times for refusing to close his borders at the height of the pandemic.

While Victorians were banned from travelling anywhere else in the nation, Mr Andrews never once closed his borders.

He said he shares the same hope with Mr Morrison that all borders will soon be open, but argued that did not mean he was comfortable with people from other countries arriving in Victoria without so much as a warning.

'It is New Zealand today, who knows what the next bubble is with, who that's with. You know, we've got authorised officers at the airport now because this has happened. We didn't think it would happen, but it has happened.'

Melbourne is excluded from the trans-Tasman travel bubble due to its devastating second wave sparked by blunders in the hotel quarantine system.

© Provided by Daily Mail Friends hug at Sydney Airport on Friday - the first day of the trans-Tasman travel bubble

The Victorian capital is not accepting any international visitors as it works to contain the spread of COVID-19 which has killed more than 800 people in the state.

Scott Morrison to use National Cabinet meeting to pressure states to lift cap on international arrivals

State and territory leaders will be under pressure to further lift the cap on international arrivals when they meet today for the first time in more than a month. Due to preparations for the Federal Budget, and a technical fault with Prime Minister Scott Morrison's plane which delayed last week's National Cabinet, today will be the first time in five weeks the nation's leaders have gathered virtually. Last month's National Cabinet meeting saw the states and territories agree to lift the weekly arrivals cap from 4,000 to 6,000.

On Sunday, just two new COVID-19 cases were reported in the entire state and zero deaths, prompting the government to ease some of the tough restrictions.

Australian state governments have no powers to detain New Zealand citizens in circumstances like these.

This is the responsibility of the Australian Border Force and the Australian Federal Police.

'Surely it is not beyond those who are responsible for the borders of our nation to make sure that only those who are in that New Zealand bubble can receive domestic passengers after they have arrived into an international airport,' Mr Andrews said.

'We are very disappointed that this has happened given that I had… written to the Prime Minister the day before on this very issue.

'We have had people turn up on our doorstep without any notice without any structure and we still can't even get the cards as to who these people are and where they have gone.'

When asked if the group would be fined or asked to leave for bursting the trans-Tasman bubble, Mr Andrews said he isn't sure they've actually done anything wrong.

'I know where they came from and how they got here, as a matter of fact in terms of the method of transport... I don't know how they got here in a policy sense,' he said, heaping the blame on Commonwealth authorities.

The long-awaited trans-Tasman bubble allows those travelling from New Zealand to enter New South Wales and the Northern Territory without completing two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine.

'Victoria has not agreed to a travel bubble arrangement with New Zealand and did not expect to receive international travellers as a result of NSW making that arrangement,' Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Friday night.

© Provided by Daily Mail A healthcare worker is seen at a drive-through COVID-19 testing facility at the Wyndham Civic Centre in Werribee, Melbourne (pictured)

© Provided by Daily Mail Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has blasted Australian Border Force officials for a massive trans-Tasman blunder that allowed 21 New Zealand nationals to fly into Melbourne

'The Victorian Government has made it clear to the Commonwealth that we expect NZ passengers who have not undertaken quarantine will not be permitted to board flights in Sydney bound for Melbourne.'

DHHS said their 'authorised officers do not have legal authority to detain the travellers on arrival.'

Three flights arrived in Sydney on Friday carrying 230 New Zealanders.

Australians are unable to travel to New Zealand and have been banned from travelling globally in all but exceptional circumstances since March 20.

On Friday Kiwi passengers were greeted with a sign that read 'we've missed you' as they made their way through the terminal to their loved ones.

Emotional reunions took place throughout the day as friends, family and lovers reunited with hugs and kisses.

New arrivals had to undergo a health screening and complete a health declaration confirming they had only been in New Zealand in the past 14 days.

New South Wales Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said he was hopeful the trans-Tasman travel arrangements would pick up pace.

'It's been quite an emotional day, like living in a scene from the movie Love Actually,' he said.

'We've got good numbers around COVID infection rates that continue to stay low, and good management practices in place, so I'd be encouraging the New Zealand government to open up their quarantine provisions as soon as possible.'