A Trans-Timor Travel Bubble
As Australia’s southern states open up internally and for cross-border movement, there is increasing talk of a trans-Tasman travel bubble, and on 5 May, Scott Morrison foreshadowed other Pacific bubbles for ‘members of our broader Pacific family’.
But what of our cousins in Timor-Leste to the north? Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak has managed this crisis very well and the results of his efforts have placed him in an enviable position, with no COVID-19 deaths. As a result, on 24 June their state of emergency is planned to end. One of the turning points in the country’s fight has been their ability to process COVID-19 tests in Dili, due to a collaboration between Timor-Leste’s National Health Laboratory and Australia’s Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies). This joint initiative is based on Australian standards and delivers trusted results.
In Australia’s Northern Territory, Chief Minister Gunner is in much the same position. His successful handling of the crisis has won him the confidence of his electorate in an election year and has earned him significant political capital in Canberra. Australia opens up more each week and from the 15 June, interstate travel will be possible to the Northern Territory, without quarantine.
Given the trusted testing service in both countries and the success each has displayed in containing the virus, it now seems time to institute a trans-Timor COVID safe travel zone to begin at the end of June. Such an initiative would boost both economies and Australia could use existing travel protocols, with a few strict additional rules to address genuine concerns on both sides:
People going from Darwin to Dili, or Dili to Darwin, must show two negative Menzies COVID-19 tests, 14 days apart.
Anyone arriving in Timor-Leste from another country that wishes to travel to the Northern Territory and beyond would only be eligible to do so after remaining in Timor-Leste for four weeks, and the same would apply for Australians.
Establish a COVID-specific No Objection Certificate, with as little bureaucracy as possible, whereby passengers are approved to travel by the destination port before boarding their flight. This seamless protocol is already part of standard travel security for arriving passengers in Australia, and the only added field would be an electronic transfer from Menzies to DFAT and vice versa, confirming the person is clear to travel.
Timor-Leste relies on Australian tourism, shipping, and air links for trade, supplies, and now COVID-19 health support. Furthermore, there are thousands of Timorese in Australia, and hundreds of Australians in Timor-Leste, who would welcome a return to regular and official travel. Australia could use some warmth in its relationship with Timor-Leste and this would be a powerful symbol of goodwill to help facilitate tourism, trade, the exchange of people, and be a step towards opening our borders with safety.
What’s more, with a sizeable Timorese population having the disposable income to travel to Australia, and Australian residents looking for an accessible holiday that’s not only Kakadu, Litchfield, and other nearby Northern Territory attractions, a travel bubble would be the start of a new tourism market for both destinations – and one that needs urgent development anyway. Once travel to the Northern Territory is in place, other states should join the bubble.
We are only talking modest numbers of people for this proposal, so I am confident people in Timor-Leste and the Northern Territory will embrace this initiative that delivers goodwill, new tourism opportunities, and money to each economy. All that it needs is for the two leaders to use their existing political fortunes and continue making tough decisions for the benefit of their people.
What I propose here are suggestions, and there may well be others that will achieve the same outcome, it is just important that we remain focused on a successful outcome whatever form that may eventually take.