Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is quelling fears that Manus Island refugees who could come to New Zealand may pose a public safety risk, saying that anyone approved would be a genuine refugee and properly screened.
And she is denying that she has overstepped the mark in her persistence on the issue, which has received some pushback from Australia.
Ardern has offered Australia $3 million and an option to take up to 150 refugees from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, where about 370 men have spent almost three weeks in a closed detention centre without essential services.
Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton called the offer was a "waste of money" and said he did not want a situation where "hope" was given to boat people.
It followed a leak of an Australian intelligence report of alleged sexually predatory behaviour from the men on Manus Island, claiming they had been luring young girls as young as 10 into sex.