US refugee resettlement arrangement

SHAYNE NEUMANN, SHADOW MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION: It’s good to be with you. I think today we can see that the transcript of the conversation between the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of the United States reveals that Malcolm Turnbull’s been telling the Australian public one thing for the last eight months and he tells the President of the United States another in private.

The ambiguity and uncertainty in relation to the offshore processing and getting people off Manus and Nauru is clear from the conversations that the Prime Minister of Australia has had with the President of the United States and Labor has consistently and repeatedly called on the Turnbull Government to release the agreement – the written agreement – between Australia and the United States in relation to the refugee resettlement agreement. In addition, Labor has called on the Turnbull Government, and we repeat that call again today. They have an agreement to take up to 50 people from Costa Rica which again, they came to the agreement in relation to this issue with the Obama Administration. We call on the Government to release these details of the Costa Rica deal.

We know from what Prime Minister Turnbull has said to President Trump that the previous statements he made – that up to 1250 people would go off Manus and Nauru and be resettled in  the United States – is not true. We know he has said to the President of the United States it could be 1000 people, 100 people or none at all. Further we know that there is a linkage that has been made, having denied any relation to the Costa Rica arrangements, there’s a clear linkage, a bargain, between the Turnbull Government and the US Administration which was struck under Obama and continued obviously under the Trump Administration. It’s simply not good enough and he has said in that transcript that we’ve seen today, that the Australian Government will take anyone from Costa Rica or even more. Now Labor believes strongly that if we’re getting people here on visa arrangements, identity checks, health checks, character checks and security checks need to be undertaken. Clearly the Prime Minister of Australia has thrown that all out in his conversation with President Trump.

So we’re calling on Prime Minister Turnbull and Minister Dutton to come clean, release the written agreement that the Australian Government struck with the US Administration in relation to Manus and Nauru and also release the Costa Rica arrangement in written form otherwise the Australian public will simply not know.

We want these people off Manus and Nauru. For four years what was to be regional transit processing facilities have become places of indefinite detention while the Turnbull Government, and the Abbott Government before, have floundered not seeking third country arrangements and having thrown everything into the Trump Administration and the Obama Administration before that. Happy to take any questions.

JOURNALIST: Mr Turnbull says that he was standing up for Australia’s interests…

NEUMANN: He’s clearly ambiguous and uncertain. He doesn’t seem to be standing up for Australia’s interests at all. He clearly says that if you want to take no refugees, you’ll take none. Clearly, he’s telling the Australian public one thing and telling the US Administration another thing entirely.

JOURNALIST: The Government would argue that this is a situation brought about by the ALP’s failed policies.

NEUMANN: Well the Government has had four years to find resettlement arrangements. They have let them languish on Manus and Nauru. They haven’t looked at third country arrangements. They have had a New Zealand option on the table. In fact, there is no one who has left Manus and Nauru as a result of this so called agreement in relation to the US refugee resettlement arrangement. Labor supports it but when are the people going to go and how many?

JOURNALIST: What should happen now in light of this transcript?

NEUMANN: They need to release the written agreement that they’ve struck with the Americans in relation to Manus and Nauru – the refugee resettlement arrangement – and they need to release the written agreement they’ve got in relation to Costa Rica as well.

JOURNALIST: (inaudible)

NEUMANN: This is creating uncertainty and not just in the Australian public. Obviously for people living in Manus and Nauru, we have Manus closing in the next month or so, so the Government needs to take steps to find third country arrangements and they need to be honest and clear with the Australian public. They have to release this written agreement; they must do so. Thank you very much.