4 Jun 2020

Live: Covid-19 updates from New Zealand and around the world on 4 June

4:34 pm on 4 June 2020

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says ideas for a trial travel arrangement between Wellington and Canberra must wait for Australia's government.

Canberra Airport is today inviting people to register their interest in flights pencilled in for 1 and 2 July.

The Chambers of Commerce in both countries are touting a new route between the capitals as a trial for a full trans-Tasman bubble.

They want the plan in place by 1 July, but would need signoff by governments on both sides of the ditch.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has said he wanted trans-Tasman travel to resume now, but in a media briefing this afternoon said the trial proposal was too early as it had not been agreed to by either government.

He said New Zealand was largely waiting on Australia's federal government to provide assurances that would allow safe travel.

"It'll be over to the Australians more than us because they've got the federal system and they're still not flying interstate."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been even more cautious on moves towards a travel bubble, describing September as a realistic date.

Read back through RNZ's live updates on Covid-19 in New Zealand and around the world on 4 June:

As Covid-19 spreads around the world, it can be daunting keeping up with the information. For RNZ, our responsibility is to give you verified, up to the minute, trustworthy information to help you make decisions about your lives and your health. We'll also be asking questions of officials and decision makers about how they're responding to the virus. Our aim is to keep you informed.

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