By Lydia Lewis
The New Zealand government has reiterated its commitment to help refugees and asylum seekers detained in Nauru and PNG by Australia.
Immigration Minister Michael Wood has met with his Australian counterpart, Andrew Giles as well as the Home Affairs Minister, Clare O'Neil, in Sydney.
"What's new is that we have been able to sit in a room with our senior officials and have confidence that the processes are being worked through," Wood said.
He said discussions were productive.
"We are keen to make as much progress on this issue as soon as we can, I believe we can make significant progress by the end of this year."
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Wood was not able to say how many people could be transferred to New Zealand by the end of the year or promise all 150 available spots would be filled.
There are less than 150 refugees in total on Nauru.
Australia's Refugee Action Coalition has called for their immediate evacuation under emergency status due to the rapid spread of covid-19 in the community.
Hear Michael Wood on Pacific Waves
Wood said he needs more information but "theoretically" people can be evacuated under emergency circumstances overnight.
He also agreed that New Zealand has enough capacity under its agreement with Australia to have up to 150 people transferred, taking in all detainees from Nauru.
"Those sorts of things are technically possible," Wood said.
He did stress that people would need to want that for themselves and they need to go through the correct processes.
Crisis situation on Nauru
Almost half of the entire population on Nauru has contracted covid-19 and one person has died, the former weightlifting champion Reanna Solomon.
In the latest figures, there are 4,113 active cases, with 2,790 having recovered.
RNZ spoke with detainee Hassan Ghahramani last week - he has been detained by the Australian government for nine years.
He told us he is fearful of contracting covid due to ongoing health issues following a heart attack and wants his resettlement to be sped up.
Ghahramani said he had been accepted for resettlement by Canada but progress has been sluggish.
He said he would go anywhere that is safe, including New Zealand.
Hassan Ghahramani with a loaf of mouldy bread Photo: Supplied
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Home Affairs said, "the management of transferees in Nauru is a matter for the Government of Nauru".
The spokesperson said the Department continues to work with the Nauru government to support transferees during the covid-19 pandemic.
"Mechanisms are in place to ensure that food and other supplies are provided to individuals," the Department said.
Michael Wood admitted progress has been slow in the past, and while he stopped short of saying it has been frustrating he did say: "You always want these things to go faster".
Wood said he has "every confidence" through his engagement with ministers Giles and O'Neil that they understand the humanitarian issues that are at stake, "and that they want to work with us to make sure that these people are able to resettle and to do so as fast as possible".
Both government's are yet to address questions asked by RNZ Pacific a week ago regarding the emergency evacuation of refugees from Nauru.
