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Overseas travel will happen "by Christmas at the latest" - Dan Tehan

Australia's tourism and trade minister Dan Tehan believes international borders will be open in time for Christmas, saying “We have to stick to the national plan that will see our international border open up.”

Australia’s tourism and trade minister Dan Tehan believes international borders will be open in time for Christmas, saying “We have to stick to the national plan that will see our international border open up.”

Dan Tehan, who is preparing to jet off to Europe for a range of overseas meetings with counterparts, has said the nation was on track to lift travel restrictions this year.

“I do empathise with the Australians who have been denied the opportunity to travel overseas this year. It’s another reason why everyone should get vaccinated,” he told the National Press Club on Wednesday.

“We have to stick to the national plan that will see our international border open up – at this rate by Christmas at the latest.”

Despite his comments, there was still no confirmed date mentioned nor talk of a plan to work towards.

Regardless, Mr Tehan’s comments follow on from airlines including Qantas, Qatar Airways and Air Canada all announcing restarted schedules from mid-December just last week.

More than 45,000 Australians are stranded overseas with the figure rising in recent months due to reduced passenger arrival caps. About 4700 are considered vulnerable.

Mr Tehan said the government was considering travel bubble arrangements with other countries, similar arrangements with New Zealand established earlier this year.

Fiji_Christmas
Fiji for Christmas? It could happen.

“That will mean there will not be the restrictions on 14-day quarantine that otherwise would be the case for people returning to Australia,” he said.

“What those quarantine arrangements would look like will depend on the negotiations with the travel bubble of the particular country.”

Mr Tehan said he hoped to see home quarantine arrangements established across the country, as a way to speed up a return to eventual overseas travel.

Trials in South Australia have used facial recognition and location technology to ensure people were at home.

NSW premier Gladys Berjiklian announced on Friday a seven-day home quarantine pilot program, to start later this month.

“Ultimately we’ve still got a little bit of work to do on that, but that’s basically the plan that we’re looking at as we head to that 80 per cent national vaccination rate,” the minister said.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the federal government leaving arrival caps to states and territories was absurd given it was responsible for customs, immigration and borders.

“It is terrible that people are stranded. We need to fix it,” he told ABC radio.

He said federally run purpose-built quarantine centres with state support were the answer.

Home quarantine is expected to be in place on a larger scale before quarantine hubs in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth are up and running.

“Get people home, get them to quarantine safely and fix this problem,” Mr Albanese said.

“This is a tragedy for people who are stranded overseas. It’s also a tragedy for people here who want to see their loved ones.”

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In response to Trade Minister Dan Tehan’s quotes regarding the international border reopening, Flight Centre Travel Group Managing Director James Kavanagh said: “There’s no doubt vaccinations are our path to freedom, and with jab rates so continuing a positive trajectory across the country, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer and neared for leisure, business, and ‘bleisure’ travellers,”

“Whether you’re looking to book a holiday abroad, see family overseas, or you plan on using our business travel specialists FCM and Corporate Traveller for a trip, we know the pent-up demand is very much there.

“The first day after Qantas’s announcement regarding international flight coming back, we saw a dramatic spike in both bookings and searches – with locations ranging from Los Angeles to Delhi – and over a quarter of these bookings were for business travel.“

Trade and overseas travel are absolutely critical for companies and it’s businesses – whether they are SMEs or large corporations – that will lead the Australian economic fightback from this global pandemic.”

Source: AAP