NSW vows helping hand for asylum seekers

NSW Premier Mike Baird and federal Social Services Minister Scott Morrison have played down suggestions of a policy rift over asylum-seekers.

Mr Baird on Friday announced NSW would offer the most generous public transport concessions for asylum seekers of any state to help fight social exclusion and make it easier to access to essential services.

"I am of the view that Australia is the lucky country and we have a responsibility to help those who have nowhere else to turn," Mr Baird said.

He told reporters the state expects up to 10,000 asylum seekers to take up the cheaper tickets once they become available in January.

Asked whether he believed the Abbott government was doing enough to help refugees, Mr Baird said: "I think the federal government is doing a number of things - not least of which stopping the boats, which is an essential requirement; the humane response that everyone has been calling for and has finally been delivered".

But he said he would like to see the federal government look for opportunities to lift Australia's humanitarian intake, adding: "I think our obligation as a nation is to look after those who need it most, obviously here, but also beyond our shores".

Mr Morrison, who appeared alongside Mr Baird on Friday afternoon at an event in his south Sydney electorate, took the comments on the chin.

"We're working through the legacy caseload of people that the previous government's border failures have forced us into having to deal with, and the premier's taken up the responsibilities that they have, and the government at the federal level continues to take up our responsibilities there," Mr Morrison said.

The Refugee Council of Australia has welcomed the state government's announcement, saying the average asylum seeker subsists on an income of only $230 a week.

"When your income is so low, and most of it is eaten up by rent, the cost of a bus or train fare can be prohibitive," said a representative on Friday.