The two countries announced Thursday that Canberra had long accepted Wellington’s offer to allow New Zealand to take in more refugees from Australia who arrived illegally by boat.
The proposal was presented in 2013 by former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to his Australian counterpart, Julia Gillard. It has since been repeated by all heads of government, including Jacinda Ardern, who currently leads New Zealand.
Australia has so far rejected the offer because it fears that if the refugees obtain New Zealand citizenship, they can return to Australia thanks to agreements that allow free movement between the two countries.
In a joint statement, New Zealand Minister for Immigration Chris Favoy and Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews wrote: New Zealand will receive a maximum of 150 refugees arriving by ship from Nauru or Australian asylum facilities each year for a period of three years.
Favoi said the agreement is a shining example of how his country is fulfilling its international humanitarian obligations. He added that applicants for the New Zealand acquisition would be thoroughly vetted.
Meanwhile, Andrews stressed that Australia’s strict border control policy had not changed and that illegal border crossings would not be allowed to settle permanently in the country, but would be deported or placed on Nauru.
In 2013, the Australian government decided to accommodate refugees arriving illegally by boat on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, or on the tiny Micronesian island of Nauru. This practice is widely criticized in relation to human rights.
Australia has steadily reduced the number of refugees on the islands in recent years. While thousands previously lived in these camps, there are currently only about 110 refugees living in Nauron and 1,100 people awaiting treatment in Australian asylum facilities.
Australia terminated an agreement with Papua New Guinea to resettle refugees in October. Those who lived there could choose between two options: either move to Nauru or to the United States.
In the final days of Barack Obama’s US presidency, he offered to take in 1,250 people who were rejected by Australia because they had entered the country illegally by boat.
The agreement with New Zealand does not apply to the nearly 100 refugees who remain in Papua New Guinea.
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