Bali Process best approach to boat people issues

Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman confirmed today that informal discussions have been held with the Australian Government about taking some of the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers onboard the Oceanic Viking.

"The New Zealand Government believes that the best approach for dealing with the wider issue of people smuggling and boat people is through the Bali Process, a multilateral arrangement which emphasises prevention, interception and deterrence," says Dr Coleman.

New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and 39 other countries across Asia-Pacific are all signatories to this process.

"The broader issues aren't going to go away. There are literally thousands of displaced people across the Asia-Pacific region.

"The New Zealand Government does not believe that an ad hoc approach to dealing with individual cases like the Oceanic Viking will send the right message.

"We're wary of rewarding actions that seek to jump the queue for entry to New Zealand. Sending the wrong message won't help solve similar situations that may arise in the future.

"That is why we support the Bali Process to which New Zealand and Australia are both signatories.

"For these reasons the New Zealand Government would be unlikely to offer settlement to asylum seekers onboard the Oceanic Viking. I have conveyed this to my Australian counterpart and both governments will continue to keep closely in touch on the issues involved."