A boat carrying 88 Sri Lankans may not have been coming to New Zealand, the Government says.
Prime Minister John Key and Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman downplayed New Zealand as a destination for the group, despite photographs showing the refugees waving New Zealand flags and holding signs saying their future is in New Zealand.
"There's actually no concrete evidence found on that boat that those people really were intending to come to New Zealand," Dr Coleman said.
There were no maps for the captain to reach New Zealand and Dr Coleman said he also had other information that indicated they may not have been heading here.
He suggested the flags and signs were a move to put pressure on New Zealand to accept the group should they be apprehended on the high seas.
Mr Key told TV3's Firstline it was not "100 percent" sure they were coming here.
"They are the sort of second-hand reports we've had and certainly the actions of the asylum seekers indicate they want to come to New Zealand, by holding up the sign and holding up the New Zealand flag.
"But there was also talk that they were going to Canada."
The boat was detained in Indonesia on Saturday.
Mr Key yesterday said they were not welcome in New Zealand, and today said that was not negotiable.
He said New Zealand took in 750 refugees a year and there were no plans to expand that programme.
