The Australian government’s argument against sending refugees to New Zealand was always absurd

Asylum seekers in the Manus Island detention centre in 2014. In the years since, successive Australian Coalition governments have said the detention policy ‘stopped the boats’ – but it did not do that, writes Ben Doherty. Photograph: Eoin Blackwell/AAP

After nine years, having borne witness to an immeasurable toll on human life, having poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a failing system, and after repeated international condemnation, Australia has belatedly accepted New Zealand’s resolute offer – an almost nagging entreaty – to resettle 150 refugees from Australia’s punitive offshore processing system, every year, for three years.

The offer has been on the table since 2013 – politely but persistently put by three New Zealand prime ministers to five Australian ones.