‘In principle’ agreement to resettle 150 refugees a year in NZ hailed as ‘historical moment’ – 9News

Refugee advocates have hailed news of an "in principle" agreement to resettle 150 refugees a year in New Zealand from Australia's offshore detention regime.

Refugee Mostafa "Moz" Azimitabar, who spent six years in detention at Melbourne's The Park Hotel, called the update, which emerged from Senate estimates on Monday night, a "historical moment".

The New Zealand offer, which has been on the table for several years, has been subject to multiple rounds of ministerial negotiations as Australia seeks to ensure refugees won't have access to a so-called "backdoor" to eventually live in Australia.

Department of Home Affairs deputy secretary of strategy and resilience Marc Ablong told Monday night's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Senate estimates hearing that the final round of talks was just weeks away "on the New Zealand side".

"They have to take the matter to their cabinet, so it'll have to go through the New Zealand cabinet process before they come to us with their final position," he said, before adding that both governments would be considering the matter at "roughly the same time".

Department of Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo said it was "fair to say" an in principle agreement had been reached.

"The Australian government has made it clear, subject to the satisfaction of both parties and the resolution of a number of issues," he said, in response to a question from Victorian Labor Senator Raff Ciccone.

Mr Pezzullo echoed concerns previously raised by Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews and other Morrison government ministers that settling in New Zealand could provide a "backdoor" into Australia through a special-purpose visa allowing "long-duration residency".

"There has to be, to satisfy the Australian government's policy, some kind of ironclad or, if not quite ironclad, firm blocking," he said.

The department secretary said the Australian government was looking for an "early resolution" to the matter but refused to define a timeframe.

"We would be reluctant to say 'this year', because I think we've said that before, and that was last year," he said.

"The power of people is stronger than politicians. The government couldn't resist this powerful pressure," he said, according to Amnesty International.

"Our consistency made this happen."

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'In principle' agreement to resettle 150 refugees a year in NZ hailed as 'historical moment' - 9News