President Donald Trump says he will review an Obama-era agreement to take up to 1250 refugees from Australian detention camps on Nauru and Manus after a phone conversation with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull.
The president called the conversation “the worst by far” of his calls with world leaders that day, and cut it short, The Washington Post reported.
Donald Trump later tweeted that he would “study this dumb deal”.
Australia has controversially refused to accept the asylum seekers and instead holds them in offshore detention centers on the Pacific nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
PM Malcolm Turnbull had been seeking clarification on the future of the deal after President Trump on January 27 signed an executive order temporarily barring the entry into the US of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The phone call between Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull took place on January 28, and was one of four the president had with world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Image source Wikimedia
The Washington Post quotes senior US officials, briefed on the call, as saying that the conversation should have lasted an hour but was abruptly ended after 25 minutes by President Trump.
Malcolm Turnbull was seeking assurances from Donald Trump that the deal would be honored.
Donald Trump reportedly said accepting the refugees would be like the US accepting “the next Boston bombers”, who were from the Caucasus region of Russia.
The official version of the call from the US was brief, but said both leaders had “emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship”.
On January 30, Malcolm Turnbull confirmed he had spoken to Donald Trump and thanked him for agreeing to uphold the deal.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer has since also said President Trump intends to uphold the deal.
However, Donald Trump’s tweet on February 1 – coming after the Washington Post report – has thrown fresh doubt on the arrangement.
Malcolm Turnbull later said he was disappointed that details of the call – which he described as “very frank and forthright” – had been made public.
The prime minister told a Sydney radio station that “the report that the president hung up is not correct”.
Australia announced in November 2016 that the United States had agreed to a one-off deal to resettle refugees currently being held on Nauru and Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, would oversee the deal and the “most vulnerable” would be prioritized, Malcolm Turnbull said.
No numbers were given and Australian Immigration Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo later told a Senate inquiry that, while those who were eligible could express an interest, it was up to the US to decide how many people it wanted to take.
A total of 1,254 people were being held in the two camps, 871 on Manus Island and 383 in Nauru, as of 30 November 2016, according to Australian government statistics.
Donald Trump’s tweet incorrectly labeled refugees as illegal, and recast the number who might be resettled as “thousands”.
Australia refuses to accept refugees who arrive by boat, under a tough deterrent policy. It has already struck resettlement deals with Cambodia and PNG, but only a handful of refugees have been resettled. Critics say the two nations are completely ill-equipped to resettle refugees.
So the US deal was a boon to the Australian government from a close political and military ally.
Australia has faced fierce international criticism for its offshore detention policy and which wants to close the Manus Island camp. Conditions in the offshore camps have been roundly condemned by rights groups, who say the policy is punitive and inflicts harm on refugees.
According to official figures, about 80% of those held on Manus Island and Nauru have been found to be genuine refugees (those found not to be are not eligible for the US deal).
All of the occupants of Manus Island are male. By far the largest number are from Iran, followed by Afghanistan and Iraq. There are also sizeable contingents from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar.
The Nauru camp holds men, women and children. Again the largest number come from Iran, followed by Sri Lanka and those who are stateless.
Some of those being held have spent several years in the camps awaiting a decision on their fate.
Australia has sworn in new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, after Tony Abbott was ousted by his party in a leadership challenge.
Malcolm Turnbull, who was communications minister under Tony Abbott, is the fourth prime minister since 2013.
After taking the oath of office, Malcolm Turnbull attended his first Question Time in parliament as prime minister.
Tony Abbott on September 15 said his removal was “tough” but promised not to undermine the new government.
In his first public comments since his removal by the Liberal party late on Monday, Tony Abbott said it had been “a tough day, but when you join the game, you accept the rules”.
Tony Abbott said he was proud of what his government had achieved, while also taking swipes at party members who had leaked to the media and carried out “a sour, bitter character assassination”.
He did not say if he would remain on the backbench or eventually resign from politics.
Tony Abbott’s removal followed weeks of tumbling polls ratings and speculation about a challenge to his leadership.
In a move led by Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Tony Abbott was voted out by the Liberal party by 54 votes to 44.
In his first Question Time session in parliament, Malcolm Turnbull paid tribute to Tony Abbott, and said these are “the most exciting times to be an Australian”.
“The future is one of great opportunities and that requires confidence and leadership and it will be lost if we embrace the politics of fear and scaremongering.”
He said policies would “change in the light of changed conditions”, but did not signal any immediate amendments to contentious issues including same sex marriage and climate policy.
Opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten said Tony Abbott had been “a formidable fighter” in office, and praised his “generous and personal” nature.
Malcolm Turnbull is not expected to announce a new cabinet line-up until the end of the week.
Following his fierce criticism of Tony Abbott’s economic leadership, there has been speculation that Joe Hockey might lose the Treasury portfolio.
Malcolm Turnbull said on Monday night the government would serve a full term, meaning a general election is likely in mid-2016.
The first real test of how the public has taken the news will be on September 19 in a by-election for the seat of Canning in Western Australia.
The seat is held by the Liberal Party. Opinion polling done before Monday night’s ballot suggested the Liberals would retain the seat but at a reduced majority.
Malcolm Turnbull has become Australia’s new prime minister after Tony Abbott was ousted as leader of the centre-right Liberal Party.
In the dramatic late night party leadership ballot, Tony Abbott, who had been plagued by poor opinion polls, received 44 votes to Malcolm Turnbull’s 54.
Malcolm Turnbull said he assumed that parliament would serve its full term, implying no snap general election.
The new leader will be Australia’s fourth prime minister since 2013.
The prime minister-elect is expected to be sworn in after Tony Abbott writes to Australia’s governor general and resigns.
On September 14, Tony Abbott had dismissed rumors of a leadership challenge as “Canberra gossip”.
They also voted for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to remain deputy leader of the party.
Speaking after the result was announced, Malcolm Turnbull praised his predecessor for his “formidable achievements” as prime minister.
The new party leader said Australia needed to have “the economic vision, a leadership, that explains the great challenges and opportunities we face”.
Malcolm Turnball said he would lead “a thoroughly Liberal government, committed to freedom, the individual and the market”.
Ahead of the vote, Malcolm Turnbull had said if Tony Abbott remained as leader, the coalition government would lose the next election, which is likely to take place in 2016.
He said he had not taken the decision to launch a leadership challenge lightly, but that it was “clear enough that the government is not successful in providing the economic leadership that we need”.
Julie Bishop had supported his bid to become party leader.
The last Australian prime minister to serve a full term was John Howard, who left power in 2007.
Labor PM Julia Gillard was ousted by rival Kevin Rudd in a leadership vote in June 2013 – months before a general election won by Tony Abbott’s Liberal Party and its coalition partners the National Party.
Julia Gillard herself had ousted Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010.
Malcolm Turnbull had previously been leader of the Liberals while in opposition, but was ousted by Tom Abbott in 2009.
Under the Australian system, as in the UK, the prime minister is not directly elected by voters but is the leader of the party or coalition that can command a majority in parliament.
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