The government wrote to the federal government in September to say it wanted to help at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis by settling an additional 500 asylum seekers in Tasmania.  

That number is part of an 12,000 additional refugees the federal government agreed to take in last year.

The state Opposition pushed the government on the additional intake in Parliament on Thursday, accusing it of inaction.

Premier Will Hodgman fired back, saying that immigration was a federal government matter and that the states were bound by that.

“Officials from both governments along with settlement service providers are working closely on planning arrivals for the state,” Mr Hodgman said.

“Our doors – and our hearts as a state – are open to those people when they come.”

Opposition multicultural spokeswoman Madeline Ogilvie said the Premier’s statement was admission that he was powerless to act on his promise to accept the additional refugees.

Ms Ogilvie cited in Parliament Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett’s willingness for his state to resettle asylum-seeker families from Manus Island with the imminent closure of the facility.

“Late last year, Mr Hodgman was all about accepting 500 asylum seekers who have fled Syria but today, as the closure of Manus Island becomes a reality, he has shamefully reneged,” Ms Ogilvie said.

The state government opened a $1.2 million Safe Haven Hub in July ahead of the resettlement, managed from Launceston and Hobart CatholiCare offices.

The service will facilitate employment and education pathways for migrants.

Mr Hodgman said the government was already supporting new arrivals to the state.

“There is now a regular flow of visa grants and arrivals of Syrians and Iraqis and they are starting to come in increasing numbers,” he said.