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Manus refugee offer head of agenda for PM's visit to Australia

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Sat, 4 Nov 2017, 6:18AM
All services have been turned off at the Manus Island detention centre (Photo: AAP/NZ Herald)
All services have been turned off at the Manus Island detention centre (Photo: AAP/NZ Herald)

Manus refugee offer head of agenda for PM's visit to Australia

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Sat, 4 Nov 2017, 6:18AM

The Prime Minister heads off to Sydney tomorrow for her first overseas trip in her new role to meet her Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull tomorrow.

Top of Jacinda Ardern's agenda will be the offer to take 150 desperate Middle Eastern refugees from Manus Island.

The Australians are worried about them using this country as a back door to entry there but National's Gerry Brownlee said there's a way around that.

"The only way you can do that would be to insist they hold onto their given nationality for the whole time they're in New Zealand. Because when they become either residents or citizens then they currently do have that opportunity to cross the Tasman fairly freely, so it is a legitimate concern from Australia."

Brownlee said he hopes the offer is taken up by the Australians.

"Is there ever a good time or ever a bad time. I think given the situation they've got there at the moment. If there are 150 people who want to come from Manus Island to New Zealand and they're perceived to add some value to our society over time then yeah it would be a good time."

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