The Government wants to increase the time it can detain without a warrant people seeking asylum en masse from four days to 28 days.

It also plans to introduce a “community management approach” - including electronic monitoring - rather than putting people in prisons, however, that will likely not be in place before the legislation is passed.

The Government says the bill, to be introduced to Parliament this week, is to ensure those arriving here would have enough time to get legal representation.

But Government support partner the Green Party has already called it it a “horrifying” step and taking New Zealand down the path of Australia, which has drawn global condemnation over human rights violations at its detention centres.

New Zealand has never had a mass arrival of asylum seekers - defined as a group of more than 30 - but officials say there have been eight attempts since 2019 and that the country remains “a target”.

No one seeking asylum in New Zealand is currently in detention.

The issue has proven controversial in Australia, particularly in the 2000s and 2010s, when thousands of people were arriving on boats, many fleeing war zones.

Australia took a hardline approach, refusing to process those arriving by boat and set up offshore detention centres where they could be detained indefinitely.

More than 1300 people are in detention centres in Australia, with the average time held in detention now up to 800 days.

An asylum seeker is a person looking for protection because they fear persecution, or they have experienced violence or human rights violations.

The right to seek asylum is guaranteed under United Nations conventions.

The bill being introduced in New Zealand would mean a decision to grant a “warrant of commitment” for a large group would have to be made ideally within seven days but up to 28 days, if a judge says the timeframe is not “reasonably practicable”. The present law is 96 hours.

This is separate from processing a claim of asylum, which take place alongside this.

Immigration Minister Michael Wood said 96 hours was not long enough for asylum seekers to “gain comprehensive legal representation and jeopardises access to specialist support for highly vulnerable individuals”.

“While it’s unlikely we’ll experience a mass arrival due to our remote positioning, there is no doubt New Zealand is a target for people smugglers. As responsible government we must remain prepared.”

Green Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman called it an “attack on the rights and asylum seekers” and said it was “horrifying” that the Government had decided to make the issue a priority, especially in an election year.

“Everyone in New Zealand until now has had a right, as soon as practicable, to legal representation. No one has ever suspended that right for 28 days.

“We don’t do that to criminals. We didn’t do that to the Christchurch terrorist.”

Ghahraman, who arrived in New Zealand as a child with her family seeking asylum from Iran, said she was also concerned people would end up being held in prisons.

Wood said the Government separately addressing that issue, which was a key recommendation of a report by Victoria Casey, KC, into how Immigration New Zealand managed asylum seekers, to develop a “community management approach”.

“This means asylum seekers will be only detained in prisons when absolutely necessary,” he said.

“The assessment of asylum claims can take a significant amount of time.

“A community management approach will extend the tools available to manage asylum seekers.

“We continue to be focused on upholding human rights and assisting in integration into New Zealand should a claim be successful.”