Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has rebuffed a claim by National's foreign affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee that she's interfering in Australia's domestic politics over the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island.
Ms Ardern raised the offer of New Zealand's long-standing policy of offering to take 150 refugees on Saturday when speaking with Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten in Auckland.
Mr Brownlee said the Prime Minister was continuing to interfere in Australia's domestic politics in forcing the Australian Government to "defend its approach to dealing with illegal asylum seekers".
Ms Ardern told her post-Cabinet news conference this afternoon that she disagrees with Mr Brownlee's statement.
"All I've done is continue to put an offer that his government instigated," she said.
Mr Ardern said as Mr Shorten reiterated at the weekend, "it's a matter for the Australian Government".
Mr Brownlee said the Australian Government is aware of the offer "and is clearly frustrated by Ms Ardern's repeated attempts to embarrass it into accepting it".
The Australian Government has said it doesn't want to disrupt an arrangement it has with the US to take refugees from Manus Island, and also doesn't want them to be able to use New Zealand as a stepping stone to get to Australia.
But it hasn't ruled out New Zealand as a future option for some of the refugees.
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