The Australian state of Victoria still does not know the names or whereabouts of the group of 17 people who snuck in from New Zealand.
The travellers landed in Sydney from Auckland yesterday as part of the new Trans-Tasman bubble, before allegedly catching a connecting flight to Melbourne.
Victoria premier Daniel Andrews said the 17 people left the airport shortly after arrival and state authorities had no power to detain them.
His Government is waiting for their travel arrival cards from Australian Border Force.
“We assume they are in metropolitan Melbourne and we will make contact with them as soon as Australian Border Force provide us with the cards,” Andrews said.
“As soon as we get that detail, we will be visiting each of those people and making sure that they are fully up to date, as it were, when it comes to the rules, the regulations, the structures that we have in Victoria.”
Victoria was not included in the travel bubble and Andrews said this current situation was never thought of.
"It is exactly the opposite of what we signed up for. It has happened now, it can't be undone.
“Our focus is on getting the cards, getting to those people and having a conversation with them about what is required of them now that they are in our state.”
Andrews told media that he is not asserting or inferring that the travellers have done anything wrong.
New South Wales and Northern Territory are now open thanks to the new “safe travel zone”.
“There has been something has gone wrong in this system, we are not supposed to be part of this arrangement.”
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