Ardern wobbling on tightrope over asylum-seekers

Jacinda Ardern is walking a tightrope over asylum seekers. She appears to have adopted the ‘‘Crusher Collins approach’’ to people-smuggling, calling the smugglers ‘‘repugnant’’ and claiming she’d destroy their boats.

In the next breath the leader who brands herself on ‘‘doing what’s right’’ was forced to admit New Zealand would come to the rescue of any asylum seekers in danger.

Ardern’s political counterparts across the ditch have an easier job when it comes to talking ‘‘boat people’’, given Australia’s hardline stance and the support that gains with voters.

And as Australia unveils its Budget this week, their Government clearly sees some political mileage in laying the fault of the latest crossing squarely at the feet of Ardern. But her messaging in response may still not have the right balance.

Last week, Malaysian Police intercepted a boat of 131 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, who authorities say were headed for New Zealand and Australia.

Malaysian authorities shouted about their good piece of policing work from the rooftops, which brought the issue back into the limelight. Air Vice Marshall Osborne praised his Malaysian counterparts for stopping the boat before it arrived in Australian waters.

‘‘This was a much larger vessel than we’ve seen for some time. It certainly was a larger number of people involved. It also seems to have been far more complex and sophisticated.’’

Some say the modified tanker, intercepted in the waters off Tanjung Gemuk in Kota Tinggi, Johor, may have had the capability to reach our shores.

It was a detail Ardern would refuse to confirm, but under questioning came up with what she would hope would be seen as a harder line approach.

‘‘It’s not up to me what happens to the boats, some of these are happening outside of New Zealand’s waters. If it were up to me, I would destroy the boats.’’

Presumably, with the asylum seekers taken safely off beforehand, and therefore placed in New Zealand custody – which also presents a problem.

Ardern clearly wants to deter people from illegally trying to make it to New Zealand shores. She is aware anything she says will be used as marketing propaganda by people smugglers, and the Australian Government will benefit domestically by laying the blame at her feet.

And she won’t have forgotten the bitter turn the trans-tasman politicking took, last time this issue was in the spotlight. Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has no qualms about making Ardern’s Government the whipping boy again to score a domestic point or two.

The Australians have long held a bee in their bonnet about Ardern’s vocal stance regarding our longstanding offer to home 150 refugees in Australian detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru. When they’re forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars protecting their waters on a defence strategy New Zealand benefits from, and New Zealand takes a stance they believe is unhelpful, Australia believes they have the higher ground. And there is leverage and power in confidence.

In reality, the talk over the Manus Island refugees has not significantly increased overseas chatter, but MFAT officials have advised anything said by the Prime Minister, or other politicians, would be used as propaganda to get people onto boats – always had been, always will be.

After the last diplomatic to-and-fro, Ardern has clearly seen the need to deliver a tougher stance. But it leaves her at risk of consistency problem as the more ‘‘caring face’’ of refugee policy.