Coronavirus: Defence Force and Air NZ planes in the works to bring Kiwis offshore home

Foreign Minister Winston Peters says no guarantees can be given to Kiwis offshore that they can return to New Zealand. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Foreign Minister Winston Peters says he can give no guarantees that the Government can bring New Zealanders offshore back home - but everything that can be done, will be done.

The New Zealand border closed at midnight to all non-residents and non-citizens, while a
"do not travel" advisory was released for all Kiwis here - both for the first time in New Zealand's history.

Peters said that Defence Force 757s or Air NZ planes could be used to collect New Zealanders abroad, but as international flights are cancelled and borders shut, he could not guarantee that all Kiwis wanting to come home will be able to.

"The Government is doing all it possibly can with utilities we've got here and abroad, but we can't give anyone a blanket assurance," he told RNZ this morning.

"I cannot and no one could give a guarantee.

"Whatever we've got available - and we're working alongside other countries - every option we've got, we'll have in the sky."

Following a $900m Government bailout for Air NZ this morning, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the airline was now in a position to help with repatriation flights, including from Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and North America.

Air NZ was working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade about collecting New Zealanders from other parts of the world, including from South America, where Air NZ has cancelled commercial flights.

"This is the largest consular exercise Mfat has ever had to undertake," Robertson said this morning.

Other airlines and other countries could be involved in those discussion, he said.

Last month New Zealanders, joined by some Australians, were evacuated from the coronavirus ground-zero city of Wuhan in China on a special Air New Zealand co-ordinated with the New Zealand Government.

And six New Zealanders joined 165 Australians as they were evacuated from the coronavirus-infected Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan on an Australian Government-chartered Qantas flight.

There are an estimated 80,000 New Zealand offshore, and about 20,000 had registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The plan could be to head to a hub in North America, for example, where a plane could collect New Zealanders and give them medical tests.

Peters said Kiwis overseas should make plans to return and contact the ministry for information.

He added that New Zealanders in Australia worried about being laid off and without welfare benefits could return to New Zealand.

"Come home and we'll look after them here."

About half of the 630,000 New Zealanders living in Australia are not eligible for welfare.

Yesterday, Peters said New Zealanders ignoring the "do not travel" message and heading overseas were "selfish".

"They imperil the population back here if they go overseas and come back.

"Why add to our problems? We have huge civil difficulties that we can succeed on, but we've got to be smart and very conscious of our collective responsibilities towards each other."