By Zoe Moffatt

Vanuatuans would be among those from overseas who would not have to quarantine to come to the NT under a proposal by Chief Minister Michael Gunner, although he conceded he had no power to make it happen.

Mrl Gunner told ABC Radio this morning the policy would have to go through a proper process but a place like Vanuatu could be included in a travel bubble based on a hotspot system used within Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told media a ‘travel bubble’ with New Zealand had been discussed at Friday’s National Cabinet meeting and said it could successfully operate between regions with no known COVID-19 outbreaks, however with New Zealand, which is the only country spoken about specifically before, the government is looking towards the end of the year for travel between the two countries to begin.

On September 18, about 160 Vanuatuans, who had flown to the NT to pick mangoes, left quarantine in Howard Springs to go onto farms to pick fruit.

While Mr Gunner did not give a timeline for when a decision on an international hotspots policy would be made, according to the NT government website, the mango picking season begins in mid-August and can go to December.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said on Monday Australians would probably not be able to travel freely to New Zealand until the end of the year.

When asked by state broadcaster TVNZ on Monday if New Zealanders would be able to travel to at least some Australian regions before Christmas, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern said: “It is possible.”

Mr Gunner said he had been discussing if there was a possibility of expanding the hotpsots policy overseas.

“We can’t control the international borders — all we can do is talk to [the federal goverment] about how we might manage things,” Mr Gunner said.

“Vanuatu is COVID free,” he said, “if you expand [the hotspots policy] Vanuatu is not a hotspot”.

“It has to go through proper process. Is our chief health officer comfortable with what’s happening in Vanuatu? Is the Australian Government comfortable with what’s happening in Vanuatu?”

When questioned how the hotspot policy would work Mr Gunner said places like New Zealand may be classified as coronavirus free while Auckland would be classified as a hotspot and residents would have to quarantine.

Auckland has been the subject of New Zealand’s latest round of coronavirus outbreaks, however there are now just 11 active cases with no new increases in the last 24 hours New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said.