The rush home for up to 20,000-odd Kiwis in Australia is on following the suspension of the transtasman bubble and a seven-day deadline for getting back without the need for an MIQ voucher – which are all currently taken.
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the overall risk from Australia was low, but the threat of the Delta variant and the risk of “seepage” across state borders triggered the need for the suspension.
It came into force at midnight last night and will remain for at least eight weeks.
“My strong message to every New Zealander in Australia who has no intention of staying there long term is, come home. We’re giving you seven days,” Ardern said, though she added it might be extended.
“If you stay beyond that period, you will have to enter into the MIQ booking system like everyone else, and at that point we cannot guarantee when you’ll be able to get a voucher.”
There are currently no MIQ rooms available. Rooms beyond November are yet to be released.
Flights home for the next week were quickly gobbled up yesterday, leaving a Kiwi man and his family in New South Wales and stuck on hold with Air New Zealand.
“Five minutes after the announcement, there were no flights for the next 14 days. I wish I was a Wiggle or a Wallaby.”
He did eventually manage to book flights – but two weeks away.
The fate of the Bledisloe Cup rugby games is unclear, with Ardern saying the Wallabies could apply for a ministerial exemption to travel here without needing an MIQ stay for economic reasons – but that would need to happen within the seven-day window.
