A date has yet to be set to establish a trans-Tasman ‘bubble’, despite calls for the Australian border to be opened in time for this ski season.

Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker said the border should be opened so operators can make ends meet.

“For this year’s ski season to be feasible and not leave operators running at a loss, the trans-Tasman bubble is needed sooner rather than later,” Hamish said in a statement last week.

He said having the Australian border open for the ski season would be “the make or break” for ski field operators breaking even this year.

The district has five skifields: three in Wanaka (Cardrona, Treble Cone, and the Snow Farm) and two in Queenstown (Coronet Peak and the Remarkables).

Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone general manager Bridget Legnavsky has said Australians make up about 30 per cent of the resorts’ market. 

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesperson told the Wanaka App officials on both sides of the Tasman are working hard to ensure a trans-Tasman zone can be established as soon as it is safe to do so.

Australians make up about 30 per cent of the market for Wanaka skifields.

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, a 40 member bilateral group, has been working for three weeks on a proposal for a safe re-opening of the border.

While both New Zealand and Australia are committed to establishing a trans-Tasman safe travel zone as soon as it is safe to do so, “a date is yet to be set”, the MFAT spokesperson said.

“The aspirational plans proposed by industry groups are not a position of either government," they said.

NZME reported yesterday (June 4) that Air New Zealand has distanced itself from proposals by Australian and New Zealand business groups to open the border.

''Air New Zealand is not proposing Tasman operations until such time that the Tasman borders are open, and only with the support of governments on both sides,'' NZME reported the airline saying.

Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult said yesterday a modelling report showed the timing of a trans-Tasman bubble, or the extent to which Kiwis travel down here, could make the difference of nearly 1,000 jobs to the district.

PHOTOS: Supplied