Covid-19 coronavirus: Queensland refuses to join proposed transtasman travel bubble

Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ruled out the state joining a proposed transtasman travel bubble.

Palaszczuk today warned of "catastrophic" consequences if Australia's international borders are opened.

She has faced strong criticism of her strict approach to her own state's border, but finally revealed this morning it would be open to Victoria on December 1.

However Palaszczuk insisted it was still too soon in the fight against coronavirus to commit to a trans-tasman bubble.

"I understand that AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principle Committee) has concerns about New Zealand at the moment so I think we have to be very cautious there as well,' she told ABC radio.

Currently Kiwi travellers are only able to travel to New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory without needing to quarantine for two weeks.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly stressed a cautious approach to the prospect of quarantine-free travel to Australia.

She has acknowledged that there were still coronavirus cases popping up in those places overseas and there was a need to tread carefully still.

Ardern said one of the issues - which she has also raised with her Australian counterpart, Prime Minister Scott Morrison - was trying to get more clarity around internal border (restrictions) within Australia.

'Catastrophic' warning

Palaszczuk wants to see the same level of caution used for Australia's international border so that the country did not open itself up to a third wave.

"If Australia's going to open up to Australia, the last thing we want to see, to put Australians at risk, is for a whole scale opening of our international borders — that would be catastrophic," she said on ABC news this morning.

"Our hotel quarantine across our nation — now that we're opening up Australia to Australia — needs to be even tighter.

"We still have to live in a COVID-safe world, unfortunately things are not normal, and what we're seeing overseas in the northern hemisphere, you only need one outbreak in hotel quarantine and you're back to square one."