Former Solomon Islands deputy prime minister, Fred Fono, says the offer from his country's government to host an asylum-seeker processing centre must be refused by Canberra.
The Australian newspaper quotes Mr Fono saying Australia has to stop trying to off-load its problems onto fragile Pacific states.
The paper had earlier reported that the Solomons government had approached the Julia Gillard government offering to host a detention centre after a similar pitch to East Timor collapsed.
But Mr Fono said his government's offer is ill-conceived, would likely trigger land disputes and lacked any community support.
He says the Solomons is loaded with too many problems without taking on a controversial role processing asylum-seekers.
Mr Fono says it's a small country, without the resources for such a facility, and burdened with its own internal problems.
He says the government should be prioritising economic development, not dealing with asylum-seekers.
A spokesman for Australia's immigration minister, Chris Bowen, says Canberra has not been talking to the Solomons about the issue.
