New Zealand is unlikely to offer refuge to 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers plucked from a stricken boat, Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said yesterday.
Australian authorities have been trying for three weeks to persuade the asylum seekers to leave customs vessel Oceanic Viking, which picked them up, and enter a detention centre on the Indonesian island of Bintan.
They have expressed concerns about being shut up in camps there for years, but there have been reports Australia is negotiating with Indonesia for any asylum claims to be processed faster and resettlement fast-tracked.
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Should NZ offer refuge to 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers?
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