Law on illegal migrants 'inadequate'

Prime Minister John Key will discuss tighter laws against people-smuggling with his Canadian counterpart this week after a review by officials found New Zealand laws are inadequate to cope with the arrival of a boatload of illegal migrants.

Canada has toughened up its laws on human smuggling after a Thai cargo ship carrying nearly 500 Sri Lankan Tamils was captured in its territorial waters.

The crackdown has strengthened existing legal language to increase the likelihood of convicting smugglers and establishes mandatory minimum jail sentences of up to 10 years.

John Key will discuss Canada's legislation with Stephen Harper, that country's Prime Minister, during a scheduled bilateral meeting between the pair at this week's Apec meeting in Yokohama, Japan.

"We are looking at what our response should be and whether our current legal settings are appropriate," Mr Key said.

"The conclusion we have come to is that they are not."

Mr Key has warned for some time that a boatload of refugees might pick New Zealand as its destination.

"People say they can't come to New Zealand. But if they can go twice as far to Canada, they can come to New Zealand."

While not flagging where the laws were deficient, the Prime Minister said the question was how to process people and determine their legal rights, including the right to appeal against decisions on refugee status.

"You really can't do anything once they get into your territorial waters. Even if you give yourself the legal rights to do something, there is the practical element of women and children [being on board]. If they can get into your economic zone, you've got to process them."

As New Zealand pushes for a free trade deal with Russia, Mr Key is seeking a bilateral meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.

Mr Key does not have a bilateral scheduled with President Barack Obama, but the pair will likely talk during the weekend.