NZ may take boatpeople refugees - report

New Zealand may end up taking refugees from among the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers plucked from a stricken boat.

Three weeks after being rescued the asylum seekers are still refusing to go ashore and be processed in Indonesia.

They have expressed concerns about being shut up in camps there for years, but the ABC reported Australia is negotiating with Indonesian authorities for any asylum claims to be processed faster and resettlement fast-tracked.

Those found to be refugees could go to New Zealand, Canada, or Australia, with Tamils already deemed refugees to be resettled first, the ABC reported.

The boatpeople are aboard the Australian customs vessel Oceanic Viking and are refusing to disembark at an Indonesian detention centre near Tamborah Laut. Indonesia has said the boat can only stay in its waters until Friday.

Green Party MP Keith Locke today called on Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman to break the deadlock by taking some of the refugees.

- NZPA