Mahuta NanaiaHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Foreign Affairs): E te whetū o te ata whītikina mai titiro mai ki tou pononga Morehu e noho toimaha nei. Homai te taro o te ora ki runga i to mātou hoa ki a Kiritapu. E Ihoa o ngā mano otirā ngā ariki manaakitia i a ia. Piki te ora piki te kaha piki te māramatanga. Māngai ae Pai Mārire.[Oh bright morning star shine down look down upon your Morehu servant who is currently burdened. Oh Jehovah of the Multitudes oh Lord provide our friend Kiritapu with nourishment. May her health her energy and her enlightenment be uplifted. Amen; goodness and peace.]I wanted to begin with a mihi to Kiritapu. I alongside many many others acknowledge your courage and wish you a speedy recovery e hoa.The trans-Tasman travel bubble announced by our Prime Minister yesterday represents a new chapter in our response to and recovery from COVID-19. This arrangement with Australia is a world first: a quarantine-free zone between two countries who are both still maintaining an elimination strategy in response to COVID-19. We're doing this as it is safe to do so and are making sure we don't jeopardise the hard work New Zealanders have put in to make sure our response is one that works for all of us.As foreign affairs Minister I am supportive of the reopening to the world starting with Australia our nearest and closest neighbour and see this as a great step for foreign relations. We're in a great position to start our rebuild towards a new normal: resetting our economies our relationships and our shared aspirations across the Pacific. The opening of the trans-Tasman border will enable kanohi ki te kanohi engagement and I look forward to seeing my Australian counterpart in person very soon. The Australian relationship is important to New Zealand. We are neighbours. We have whānau who will look forward to reconnecting with each other across the Tasman.The decision to initiate a quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia was not taken lightly. A health response remains central to our decision and it wasn't something that could be just rushed or that we could take for granted. It's important to remember that at this moment and until more people are vaccinated our borders are the first line of defence against this global pandemic. Travel will be a little different to what it has been in the past and travellers will need to recognise this isn't travel as usual. But this is an important step in reopening our country to the world starting with Australia.New Zealand has been internationally recognised for its response to COVID-19 both for our work supporting whānau through initiatives like the wage subsidy business support scheme lifting the benefit and coming together in responding to the need across the Pacific in relation to COVID-19 and the seasonal weather events they have been experiencing as well. Our responsibility has been widespread.At the border we needed to make sure we could open safely and there were conditions that needed to be undertaken to address things like establishing our response framework—which is new online—and this will ensure that we are ready if there are outbreaks of COVID-19. We needed to have measures in place to effectively contact trace travellers from Australia to protect New Zealanders. Technical issues needed to be resolved. We needed appropriate regulatory mechanisms in place for border agencies. Airlines airports and agencies needed to be ready. Much work has already been done here with crew separation and red and green zones at our airports but they needed time to be in place that meant that we could open safely.And finally the Director-General of Health needed to provide advice that he was satisfied we are ready and we are at that point. I acknowledge the hard work and commitment of all those involved in ensuring our readiness at the border across the health system and in the public sector. So we're now in a fortunate position to implement a trans-Tasman bubble. Benefits for whānau business and the tourism sector will follow.There have been a number from the New Zealand tourism sector who see this as a positive-sum game. In fact Prime Minister Morrison said yesterday that it's great that this can be done in time for Anzac Day reinforcing how special the relationship is between New Zealand and Australia. Ngāi Tahu Tourism welcomed the announcement and said that this travel bubble means the chance to showcase once again some of the most beautiful parts of our country".While we can rightly be optimistic about the borders opening this will only work if we remain vigilant and aware that our continued focus on a health response means that we can enjoy such travel privileges and an economic recovery that works for our country."