5. Question No. 5—TourismHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of TourismQuestion No. 5—Tourism5. Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Tourism: Does he view a trans-Tasman bubble as a priority for the tourism sector and by what date does he expect a trans-Tasman bubble to be in place?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response) on behalf of the Minister of Tourism: Yes but also for the reasons of reuniting friends and family. We've always maintained that we will commence safe travel with Australia when it is safe to do so. Cabinet has yet to agree a specific implementation date.Hon Todd McClay: What does he say to Scenic Hotel Group managing director Brendan Taylor who said on the radio this morning and I quote The Minister of Tourism went down to the West Coast saying until we get 70 percent herd immunity with the vaccine then borders are not going to open not even to Australia." and he predicted that wouldn't happen until January of next year if we are lucky?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I'm not sure that that's exactly what the Minister of Tourism said and so I can't comment on that. But we have always been clear that we will open a trans-Tasman bubble with Australia when we're in a position to do that.Hon Todd McClay: Is he concerned that the comments he made recently in a public meeting at Franz Josef on the trans-Tasman bubble have led to the managing director of Scenic Circle hotels announcing they would close four of their hotels?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: People will make business decisions based on a whole variety of different factors. I do want to acknowledge that the New Zealand tourism industry is experiencing quite a lot of difficulty as a result of the closure of the border at the moment. I do want to note however that a removal of restrictions on the New Zealand side without a corresponding removal of restrictions on the Australian side may result in an export of tourism dollars away from New Zealand to Australia not necessarily tourism dollars flowing the other way.Hon Todd McClay: Is he aware that Tourism New Zealand have estimated a trans-Tasman bubble with Australia would allow tourism revenue to recover to 70 percent of pre-COVID levels; and if so doesn't this mean that Scenic hotels and many other tourism businesses wouldn't be closing?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I am sure that that estimate is based on a full reopening and removal of restrictions on both sides of the Tasman. It is important to note that as of today only two Australian states are allowing New Zealanders to arrive in Australia without there being any restrictions in place and further that any Australian wanting to travel to New Zealand for tourism purposes needs to get a visa from the Australian Government in order to do so.Hon Todd McClay: How many other hotels and tourism businesses will close before the Government opens the border to Australia as Australia did for New Zealanders in October of last year?SPEAKER: Order! That's not something the Minister has responsibility for.Hon Todd McClay: Point of order Mr Speaker. So to the Minister of Tourism how many tourism businesses will close—surely that's within his ambit when the primary is—SPEAKER: Well if he'd asked about reports that he had seen or information that he had received. He does not have responsibility for the closure."