Asylum seekers who were detained with Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani have celebrated the news of his arrival in New Zealand, but called the situation "bittersweet".
Mr Boochani landed in Auckland on Thursday after more than six years of detention in Papua New Guinea, saying he had no plans to return.
Shaminda Kanapathi, a Sri Lankan asylum seeker who was held with Mr Boochani on Manus Island before they were both moved to Port Moresby this year, said it was a "great moment".
Shaminda Kanapathi talks to SBS News on Friday. Source: SBS News
"I'm really happy for him because he has left Papua New Guinea, never to return. He has found his freedom so this is a really great moment for me," he told SBS News from Port Moresby.
"To see somebody who stayed with us for a long time in this miserable situation, it's wonderful to see [him leave]," he said.
But Mr Kanapathi said the moment was also "bittersweet".
"He was a bit sad to leave us - the almost 300 men still in Papua New Guinea ... We are still in limbo and we don't know our future."
Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz Muhamat, who was also held on Manus Island before being granted asylum in Switzerland, said he had mixed feelings.
"Today is my best day and I am really overwhelmed with joy but also a bit sad for the rest of my brothers and sisters who are still stuck in limbo. We will do whatever for your freedom, stay strong brothers," he tweeted.
And Amir Taghinia, who spent nearly five years on Manus Island before being resettled in Canada, tweeted it was the "news of the century".
'Welcome to New Zealand'
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark was one of many Kiwis who welcomed Mr Boochani.
"Welcome to New Zealand Behrouz Boochani ... Proud of my country," she tweeted.
While some in Australia used the moment to criticise the federal government's border protection policies.
In a statement, opposition home affairs spokesperson Kristina Keneally said, "refugees have been languishing in indefinite detention for six years because of Peter Dutton's incompetence to negotiate practical and durable third-country resettlement options".
"It is clear Australia can have strong borders without being weak on humanity."
Asylum Seekers Resource Centre chief executive Kon Karapanagiotidis tweeted "[Mr Boochani] will be a living ongoing reminder of our shameful refugee policy in Australia".
Greens Senator Nick McKim, who had visited Mr Boochani when he was on Manus Island, said the refugee had "survived so much and showed so much courage".
"He never lost himself despite everything thrown against him and maintained his independence, kindness and intellectual integrity. What a human," he tweeted.
Greens Senator Nick McKim met Behrouz Boochani on Manus Island last week. Source: Supplied
SBS News contacted the Department of Home Affairs about Mr Boochani's arrival in New Zealand and ongoing criticism of its border protection policies.
"The department does not comment on individual cases," a spokesperson said.
Never going back
Mr Boochani was granted a month-long visitor's visa to travel to Christchurch to speak at a literary festival on 29 November.
Behrouz Boochani speaks shortly after touching down in New Zealand. Source: Twitter
The refugee has not revealed his long-term plans but hopes to stay in New Zealand beyond his current visa, telling reporters he will "never go back" to Papua New Guinea.
He arrived by boat on Christmas Island in July 2013 and was sent to Australia's offshore detention facility on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea a month later.
While in detention, Mr Boochani wrote a book No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison which won this year's Victorian Prize for Literature and the National Biography Award - Australia's richest literary prize.
He also filmed a documentary of life in the Manus centre on a mobile phone, which has been seen in Australia, London and Berlin.
Additional reporting: AAP
