EDITORIAL:
Our cautious emergence from lockdown to break the chain of Covid-19 coronavirus transmission now has a clear path - shoulder to shoulder with our old mates, the Australians.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week said a joined safe zone is "still some time away" but also stressed: "It is important to flag it, because it is part of the road back".
READ MORE:
• Covid 19 coronavirus: How Australia's businesses are preparing to leave their lockdown
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Australia's businesses told to create 'COVID-safe workplaces' ahead of green light
• Covid 19 coronavirus: New Zealand vs. Australia - do we really want to be like them?
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Top medical authority says Australia in 'the same position as New Zealand'
Talk of a transtasman travel zone "as soon as it is safe to do so" is especially tantalising for business, tourists and estranged families. It is also reminiscent of the optimistically cooperative years in the late 1970s which resulted in the Closer Economic Relations policy, finally signed in January 1983 - at the time, one of the most comprehensive, effective and WTO-compatible free trade agreements in the world.