PM must come clean on refugee swap deal – ALP
LABOR has demanded Malcolm Turnbull come clean on the refugee swap deal after a leaked transcript of his conversation with Donald Trump revealed he made major concessions to the US President.
Labor immigration and border protection spokesman Shayne Neumann has asserted the transcript raises concerns “Australia will simply take anyone the US wants” us to in return for an end to the ongoing Manus-Nauru refugee resettlement fiasco.
“(Turnbull’s) mismanagement has called into doubt the credibility of the agreements and the government’s ability to execute them,” Mr Neumann said.
The Prime Minister made the extraordinary offer to accept America’s most “unattractive guys” that it was desperate to get rid of as part of the refugee swap, the transcript reveals.
Mr Turnbull has repeatedly denied there was any “swap” in the US offer to take 1250 economic refugees from Manus and Nauru.
“Basically, we are taking people from the previous administration that they were very keen on getting out of the United States,” Mr Turnbull explained to Mr Trump during the January phone call.
“We will take more. We will take anyone that you want us to take. The only people that we do not take are people who come by boat. So we would rather take a not very attractive guy that help you out then to take a Noble (sic) Peace Prize winner that comes by boat. That is the point.”
Mr Turnbull again indicated Mr Trump needed to take the refugees because it was part of a “bargain” struck with former President Barack Obama.
“I say this to you sincerely that it is in the mutual interest of the United States to say, ‘Yes, we can confirm with that deal’. We are not obliged to take anybody we do not want, we will go through extreme vetting’ and that way you are seen to show the respect that a trusted ally wants and deserves,” Mr Turnbull said.