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The split between Australia and New Zealand over refugee policy has deepened, with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton rubbishing the neighbouring country's plan to spend nearly $3 million improving essential services on Manus Island.
Key points:
- NZ says it will provide PNG with $2.7m for essential services on Manus
- Peter Dutton says the money could be better spent elsewhere
- He argues NZ benefits from Australia's border protection laws without paying
More than 300 men on Manus are still refusing to leave the now-closed detention centre and move to alternative accommodation in the island's main town, Lorengau.
New Zealand has been pressing Australia to accept its offer to resettle 150 refugees from Manus and Nauru.
Earlier this week, it said it would give Papua New Guinea $2.7 million to provide essential services on Manus Island, but Mr Dutton has dismissed the offer, saying the money would be better spent elsewhere.
"Well, it's a waste of money in my judgement, I mean give that money to another environment somewhere, to Indonesia for example," he told Sky News.
"It's an issue for New Zealand where they spend their money, but from my perspective we want to get people off Manus and have the processing centre closed.
"I don't want false hope being offered to people, I don't want them rejecting the US position on the promise one day they'll go to New Zealand or somewhere else."
New Zealand's new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern used her first meeting with Malcolm Turnbull earlier this month to make it clear that her country's offer to resettle refugees was still on the table.
Mr Turnbull again rejected it, but left the door ajar to Australia saying yes in the future.
Since then, Ms Ardern has been ratcheting up the pressure on Australia to accept, calling the humanitarian situation on Manus Island unacceptable.
But Mr Dutton argued people smugglers would seize on any deal that saw refugees resettled across the Tasman.
"They market New Zealand the same way they market Australia … why wouldn't people want to make that trek?" he said.
"At this point in time it's the wrong decision to send people to New Zealand because you will start the boats."
Human rights advocates have been pressing New Zealand and Papua New Guinea to bypass Australia and strike an agreement for New Zealand to take the refugees immediately.
But Mr Dutton warned that would have consequences for Australia's relationship with both countries.
"They would have to think about their relationship with Australia and what impact it would have," he said.
"They'd have to think that through, and we'd have to think that through."
No 'financial assistance from NZ': Dutton
He also took a thinly veiled swipe at New Zealand by arguing it benefited from Australia's tough border protection policies without paying for them.
"We have stopped vessels on their way across the Torres Strait planning to track their way down the east coast of Australia to New Zealand," Mr Dutton said.
"We have put many hundreds of millions of dollars into a defence effort to stop those vessels.
"We do that frankly without any financial assistance from New Zealand.
"If new boats arrive tomorrow those people aren't going to Auckland, they're going to Nauru."
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, new-zealand
First posted