Australian senator Pauline Hanson has taken a swipe at New Zealand's offer to accept asylum seekers from Manus Island, saying it will open a backdoor entry for people smugglers.
It comes as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has recently been pressing Australia's government to allow New Zealand to take 150 of
the 400 increasingly desperate detainees, who are refusing to leave the now-closed Manus Island detention centre.
The offer has been rebuffed several times by the Australian Government since National first made it in 2013.
Senator Hanson backed the refusal, saying the easy movement of people between New Zealand and Australia would open a backdoor entry point for people smuggling.
"[New Zealand] taking the refugees is going to send a clear message to these people smugglers and everyone else," she told TV1's Q + A programme on Sunday morning.
