New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has today stressed that the ball is now in Commodore Frank Bainimarama's court but hinted that the expulsion of Acting High Commissioner Caroline McDonald would trigger tit-for-tat action by NZ.

Speaking to Newstalk ZB this morning, Key said they have made it clear that they would not want to see McDonald sent home and if she is, there will be repercussions.

Key stressed that they do not think it would be in Fiji's best interest and they are trying to build a productive relationship with Fiji and it’s not like that they are being unreasonable.

The New Zealand Prime Minister said let’s see how it goes but they are not going to operate in an environment where they do not stand up for what they believe and what they believe in is that Fiji needs to get on to a roadmap of democratically held elections.

Meanwhile, senior government officials maintain that Caroline McDonald will be expelled if the NZ government does not change its stance on the two students who were denied visas.

It is not known at this stage whether further talks between senior government officials in Wellington and Suva are expected this week.