New Zealand has reportedly rejected resettling asylum seekers in Australian offshore processing, contradicting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's public position.
Senior New Zealand departmental officials privately told former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull they weren't open to resettling single asylum seeker men from Manus Island, News Corp reports.
Ms Ardern had publicly offered to settle at least 150 refugees being held on Nauru or Manus Island but was rebuffed by Mr Turnbull and his successor Scott Morrison.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the government believed inaction was a better solution than accepting New Zealand's offer.
"I'm concerned that the current government sat on its hands for four years when New Zealand made an offer," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
AAP has asked Ms Ardern to comment on the reports.
Meanwhile, almost 60 asylum seekers on the islands have failed character assessments since the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade began screenings in response to new medical transfer laws, according to The Australian.
The Morrison government has attacked the new medevac regime, arguing there's a loophole that prevents people from being sent back to Manus Island and Nauru once they have been transferred to Australia for treatment.
But Labor, who teamed up with crossbench MPs to pass the laws, rejects the claims and has vowed to return asylum seekers once doctors advise they have completed medical treatment.
Mr Shorten accused the government of focusing solely on the issue to distract Australians from other priorities.
"We believe in strong borders, we back regional processing," he said.
Under the new regime, two doctors can recommend asylum seekers currently on Manus Island or Nauru be transferred to Australian territory for treatment.
The government intends to send people to the reopened Christmas Island detention centre, off Western Australia, rather than the mainland.
