Aussie news outlet slams rumours Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in contention for Nobel Peace Prize

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Australian PM Scott Morrison, pictured in Melbourne late last week. Photo / AP

The thought of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern possibly being up for a Nobel Peace Prize does not sit well with at least some in the Australian media.

And even her moral views have come into question regarding her views around deporting New Zealand-born criminals from Australia back to their country of birth, no matter how long they have lived across the Tasman.

Speaking to fellow broadcaster Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin, commentator Gemma Tognini said of the Kiwi PM: "It's very, very cute for her to come to another country and morally posturise the way she has been.

"I don't know if it were in reciprocal circumstances, whether it would be tolerated nor appreciated."

Suggestions of any contention for the top award were discussed in the segment while the PM was in the country meeting her Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison.

The two prime ministers met for bilateral talks that focused on the issue of deportations and citizenship late last week.

Although it has not officially been confirmed that Ardern is up for the prestigious award, several petitions from around the world have started to recognise her leadership after the mosque shootings in Christchurch in March.

Political commentator and Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin discussed the citizenship issue with experts before changing the subject to Ardern potentially getting the Nobel Peace Prize off the back of how she dealt with the Christchurch shootings on March 15.

"What's this rumour that she's sort of in contention for a Nobel Peace Prize for that work in Christchurch?

"If Christchurch equals Nobel Peace Prize and all [former US President Barack] Obama really had to do was win the election - basically just get out of bed - and he got one as well.

"Aren't we devaluing something that used to be very revered?''

In response to the question, Dr Jeremy Sammut, from The Centre for Independent Studies, said: "I think that's undoubtedly true.

"And I think, unfortunately, for a long time the credibility of the Nobel Prize has been undermined - particularly by the decision to give it to President Obama before he'd literally done anything or hardly had his feet under the desk. So I think that's a real issue."

Shortly after the Christchurch shootings, petitions started to surface calling for Ardern to get a Nobel Peace Prize for her leadership in the face of the tragedy.

The signed petitions started in France and quickly gathered almost 20,000 signatures by the end of March.

Referring to the bilateral talks between the two Prime Ministers last week, Sammut touched on Ardern's move to raise concerns around deporting Kiwis living in Australia back to New Zealand, despite not having a strong connection here.

He said it appeared Ardern had picked a "touchy feely issue'' that seemed to give her a lot of credit among those on the left - both internationally and in Australia.

"I just thought it was a very strange priority for her to have,'' he said.

"She's the Prime Minister of a nation state, she's not a prison social worker. I would have thought that it would have been a much better conversation with Scott Morrison to find out how you win an election in your own right."