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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Donald Trump rages at 'dumb deal' with Australia over refugee resettlement – live | Donald Trump rages at 'dumb deal' with Australia over refugee resettlement – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.41am GMT | |
| 05:41 | |
| Refugee resettlement: what the US and Australia agreed | |
| Here is what we knew about the deal as it was struck with the Obama administration – in the Trump world, it’s far from clear which parts of it will stand: | |
| Australia announced in November 2016 that some refugees currently held in detention on Manus Island and Nauru would be eligible for resettlement in the US as a “one-off” deal. | |
| The deal is open only to those found to be refugees. Asylum seekers whose refugee claims are not accepted have been told by Australia to return to their home country or face indefinite detention. | |
| Up to 1,250 refugees were believed to be eligible for the deal, should it go ahead. | |
| Refugees who attempt to reach Australia by boat are kept on offshore detention islands and told they will never be allowed to settle in Australia. Some have been on Nauru or Manus for years. | |
| Applicants for resettlement in the US – who will already have gone through screening processes that determined their refugee status – would have to undergo the “extreme vetting” introduced by the Trump administration, White House spokesman Sean Spicer has said. | |
| 5.33am GMT | |
| 05:33 | |
| Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has said Malcolm Turnbull should be more open about his conversation with Trump, saying the Washington Post account of their phone call was worrying: | |
| We shouldn’t be finding out about what’s happening to Australian policy through the news of foreign countries. | |
| 5.28am GMT | |
| 05:28 | |
| It’s not only Australia’s leader who endured a bumpy phone call with Trump, it appears: Mexico, a longtime target of the new US president, shared the brunt. | |
| David Agren reports from Mexico City: | |
| Donald Trump spoke of sending troops south of the border to take care of “bad hombres” while on the telephone with his Mexican counterpart, according to a transcript cited by the Associated Press. | |
| Trump was said to have made either an offer – or a veiled threat – of the US military weighing in to fight Mexican gangs in a conversation on Friday that Enrique Peña Nieto’s office later described as “constructive”. | |
| According to reports that were apparently based on a leaked White House document, the US president told Peña Nieto: “You have a bunch of bad hombres down there. You aren’t doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn’t, so I just might send them down to take care of it.” | |
| 5.19am GMT | |
| 05:19 | |
| Turnbull: US-Australia alliance 'rock-solid' | |
| Turnbull says the US is not committed to take all 1,250 refugees eligible for the resettlement deal. | |
| The US will apply its own vetting processes, which could see some turned away. | |
| Is Trump difficult to deal with, Turnbull is asked: | |
| It’s my job to stand up for Australia … I’ve dealt with many people over the years and I’ve enjoyed my dealings with President Trump. | |
| The alliance is absolutely rock-solid, it is so strong … It will continue and strengthen during my time as prime minister and, I’m sure, President Trump’s time. | |
| He says dealings have been “frank and forthright” on both sides. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.19am GMT | |
| 5.15am GMT | |
| 05:15 | |
| Turnbull repeats his denial of the report that Trump hung up on him. | |
| He won’t answer a question on whether the call was cut short, but does say it was 25 minutes long. | |
| (The Washington Post report that broke the story of the “worst call by far”, in Trump’s reported words, said the call had been scheduled to last an hour.) | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.16am GMT | |
| 5.14am GMT | |
| 05:14 | |
| Quick as a flash, Malcolm Turnbull is over to Melbourne’s 3AW radio. | |
| I think we know his line on this now, but he’s doubling down: | |
| The deal was to process and consider as acceptance as refugees … it was always premised on their very vigorous processing. | |
| He repeats the assurances from the phone call, from Sean Spicer, the US state department and the US embassy in Canberra, that all would go ahead. | |
| We have a clear commitment … it’s been confirmed … we expect the deal will continue. | |
| Is there a plan B? | |
| Turnbull says Australia is always looking for options to resettle people from Nauru or Manus – apart from the option to come to Australia, which is off the table. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.14am GMT | |
| 5.05am GMT | 5.05am GMT |
| 05:05 | 05:05 |
| And here’s Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy’s analysis of that slightly uncomfortable Turnbull interview: | And here’s Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy’s analysis of that slightly uncomfortable Turnbull interview: |
| Turnbull, in essence, is staring Trump down on @2GBNews We had a deal, you said you'd honour it #auspol | Turnbull, in essence, is staring Trump down on @2GBNews We had a deal, you said you'd honour it #auspol |
| This is not a deal Trump would have done, or he'd regard as a good deal @TurnbullMalcolm says, but a deal is a deal is his point #auspol | This is not a deal Trump would have done, or he'd regard as a good deal @TurnbullMalcolm says, but a deal is a deal is his point #auspol |
| 4.58am GMT | 4.58am GMT |
| 04:58 | 04:58 |
| Turnbull on Trump: summary | Turnbull on Trump: summary |
| Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull once again refused to be drawn on reports that his call with Donald Trump was a fraught one, with the US president reportedly describing it as “the worst call by far” with a foreign leader. | Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull once again refused to be drawn on reports that his call with Donald Trump was a fraught one, with the US president reportedly describing it as “the worst call by far” with a foreign leader. |
| But Turnbull did insist that Trump had not hung up on him: | But Turnbull did insist that Trump had not hung up on him: |
| The report that the president hung up is not correct – the call ended courteously. | The report that the president hung up is not correct – the call ended courteously. |
| Despite a tweet by Trump calling the US-Australian agreement to resettle up to 1,250 refugees from Nauru and Manus island a “dumb deal”, Turnbull said the president would honour the commitment: | Despite a tweet by Trump calling the US-Australian agreement to resettle up to 1,250 refugees from Nauru and Manus island a “dumb deal”, Turnbull said the president would honour the commitment: |
| We have a commitment from the US president, confirmed several times now by the government. | We have a commitment from the US president, confirmed several times now by the government. |
| Trump himself would not have signed up to such an agreement, the Australian PM conceded: | Trump himself would not have signed up to such an agreement, the Australian PM conceded: |
| This is not a deal that he would have done or that he would regard as a good deal … But the question is, will he commit to honour the deal and he has given that commitment. | This is not a deal that he would have done or that he would regard as a good deal … But the question is, will he commit to honour the deal and he has given that commitment. |
| Pressed on the Trump tweet that appeared to chuck aside that commitment, Turnbull said: | Pressed on the Trump tweet that appeared to chuck aside that commitment, Turnbull said: |
| Well, that is his tweet. I’m telling you what’s been said to us. | Well, that is his tweet. I’m telling you what’s been said to us. |
| 4.51am GMT | 4.51am GMT |
| 04:51 | 04:51 |
| Officials are working in Washington this week to secure the details of the deal, Turnbull says. | Officials are working in Washington this week to secure the details of the deal, Turnbull says. |
| My job … is to defend our interests. America is our most important ally. We have very frank discussions. | My job … is to defend our interests. America is our most important ally. We have very frank discussions. |
| 4.50am GMT | 4.50am GMT |
| 04:50 | 04:50 |
| Turnbull: Trump tweet doesn't affect deal | Turnbull: Trump tweet doesn't affect deal |
| Turnbull refuses to be drawn on whether Trump described their phone chat as the “worst call ever”, saying he made the case for Australian interests “powerfully” and “persuasively”. | Turnbull refuses to be drawn on whether Trump described their phone chat as the “worst call ever”, saying he made the case for Australian interests “powerfully” and “persuasively”. |
| We have a commitment from the US president, confirmed several times now by the government. | We have a commitment from the US president, confirmed several times now by the government. |
| He says he doesn’t think Trump’s tweet changes that. | He says he doesn’t think Trump’s tweet changes that. |
| This is not a deal that he would have done or that he would regard as a good deal … But the question is, will he commit to honour the deal and he has given that commitment. | This is not a deal that he would have done or that he would regard as a good deal … But the question is, will he commit to honour the deal and he has given that commitment. |