The Covid-19 Response Minister's explained why Monday's MIQ voucher release won't be for travellers from Australia.
The new MIQ booking system aims to level the playing field for returnees, randomly allocating rooms to people in a virtual lobby.
The first 3000 rooms from now until Christmas will be available from Monday.
Chris Hipkins says there's a logistics issue with scheduling red flights from across the ditch.
He says they need to work with airlines to organise red flights, and make sure they line up with voucher releases.
Hipkins says an opportunity is not far off for those in Australia.
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