Trump on refugee deal with Australia: Why are we doing this?

Trump on refugee deal with Australia: Why are we doing this?

A STAFFER in the Prime Minister’s office has been suspended after posting anti-Trump propaganda to her social media page.

An executive assistant to the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s chief of staff Drew Clarke, has been suspended today over “inappropriate” posts on her Facebook page, 2GB radio reports.

The woman posted a photo and link to a website named ‘Tuck Frump’ in November, before the President was elected.

She deleted the post today after the radio station alerted the Prime Minister’s office to the link.

The website features merchandise with ‘Tuck Frump’ and a video showing a doll of the President being stabbed with pins, covered in molten lead and crushed.

She had an image of a ‘Tuck Frump’ T-shirt as her Facebook cover image until mid-January, 2GB reports.

“The employee accepts that these posts were inappropriate and has deleted them from her account,” a spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

“The Chief of Staff has suspended her immediately while the matter is investigated further.”

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was unsympathetic for the employee, saying political staffers were warned all the time to be careful what they posted on social media.

“You’ve got to be careful of what you say,” the Nationals leader told 2GB radio.

“People know that, you get warned about that all the time if you work in a political office,” he said.

“In any organisation, if you say you’re working for an organisation and you put something up that embarrasses this organisation, unfortunately you’re going to fall sour of the consequences.” Earlier this month, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was forced to dump several candidates in Queensland over inappropriate social media posts.

It comes after Mr Turnbull found an unlikely ally after reports of his recent ‘terse’ phone call with President Trump emerged.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten says while he doesn’t think either President Trump or Mr Turnbull have “covered themselves in glory” in the past few days, he has some sympathy for the Prime Minister.

“Mr Trump needs to understand and show greater respect to Australia and the Australian alliance than he seems to be displaying, if the reports are right,” Mr Shorten said.

“This may surprise you but whilst I’m not a fan of the way Mr Turnbull has been handling matters on this one I’ve got some sympathy for him because, quite bluntly, I don’t think you can run an American-Australian alliance by Twitter.”

Speaking to reporters in Perth today, Mr Shorten reinforced his comments to the National Press Club earlier this week that Australians were sick of political point scoring.

“I don’t think they’ve handled everything correctly about their talking to Donald Trump, but nonetheless, what annoys Australians ... is ‘he said, she said’ politics, all just petty playground bickering,” he said.

“We have to step above that and that’s why we offer bipartisan support for the refugee deal so we can resolve these matters.”

But he did not accept the Government’s accusations that Labor was to blame for the ongoing detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru.

“The Government has now been in for nearly four years, they’ve got to stop blaming everyone else for what’s going on now,” he said.

WHAT ‘PRICE’ WILL TRUMP DEMAND FOR REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT?

AUSTRALIA may find President Donald Trump will exact a hefty price for resettling refugees languishing on Naru and Manus — such as sending troops to Iraq.

The new “America First” US president says he is all about deal making and winning. Right now he’s not happy the Obama administration left him with a “dumb deal” to resettle refugees Australia offloaded to Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

Mr Turnbull, another businessman-turned political leader, will soon find out what the new president wants as quid pro quo, James Curran from the US Studies Centre told AAP.

“It may take the form of a battalion in Iraq or freedom-of-navigation patrols in the South China Sea,” he said

It would be extremely dangerous for Australia to be trading away key national security interests to shore up what in reality is a minor refugee deal, he said. Sending a battalion to the Middle East for the fight against Islamic State extremists would effectively double our commitment of 780 personnel who are carrying out air strikes, special operations and training Iraqi soldiers.

Leaders' interactions set the tone of an alliance for govts & the public, says @camhawker at @ASPI_org | https://t.co/TArCRWU898 #auspol — Amelia Long (@AmeliaLong222) February 2, 2017

Professor Curran warns if the Australian government is “prepared to kowtow to Trump’s petulance and impulsiveness,” it doesn’t augur well for the ANZUS alliance.

Apart from the security implications of taking part in a US-led exercise in the South China Sea, there’s the question of economics. China is Australia’s largest trading partner.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute director Peter Jennings echoes that sentiment.

“I think it’s sensible for us to be working through all manner of contingencies, which includes a temporary freezing of the alliance, a sort of lull in alliance co-operation,” he told the ABC.

Former foreign minister Bob Carr said President Trump’s attitude towards Mr Turnbull during their phone hook-up should prompt Australia to be practical about the alliance.

The president reportedly labelled it his worst call with a world leader so far and hung up 25 minutes in to a scheduled hour-long chat, a claim that Mr Turnbull denied.

“You don’t treat a loyal treaty partner like this,” Mr Carr said

HOCKEY MEETS KEY TRUMP ADVISERS

Australia’s US Ambassador Joe Hockey has met the President’s top advisers at the White House after Malcolm Turnbull and Donald Trump’s explosive phone call.

Trump’s top officials attempted to smooth over the incident over the refugee deal by telling Mr Hockey the President had “deep admiration” for the Australian people.

Mr Hockey met with chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon.

“Mr Priebus and Mr Bannon had a productive meeting with the Australian ambassador at the White House,” a US official told CNN soon after Mr Hockey left the building.

“They conveyed the President’s deep admiration for the Australian people.”

Mr Bannon was with Trump in the Oval Office when he took the phone call with Mr Turnbull.

It came after Republican Senator John McCain threw his weight behind Australia.

Senator McCain, a fierce critic of the Trump administration, said he spoke to US ambassador Joe Hockey to back the US-Australia alliance.

#Australia is 1 of US's oldest friends & allies - called Aus Amb to US to express my unwavering support for alliance https://t.co/ODQeEpoA3H — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 2, 2017

“Australia is one of America’s oldest friends and staunchest allies. We are united by ties of family and friendship, mutual interests and common values, and shared sacrifice in wartime,” the former Vietnam POW said in a statement.

“In that spirit, I called Australia’s Ambassador to the United States this morning to express my unwavering support for the US-Australia alliance.”

The Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee also recognised Australia’s wartime alliance with the US.

“On the Fourth of July 1918, American and Australian soldiers fought side-by-side at the Battle of Hamel. In the century that followed, our two nations struggled and sacrificed together in World War I and World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Those of us who took part in the conflict remember well the service of more than 50,000 Australians in the Vietnam War, including more than 500 that gave their lives,” Senator McCain said.

“Today, Australia is hosting increased deployments of US aircraft, more regular port visits by US warships, and critical training for U.S. marines at Robertson Barracks in Darwin. This deepening co-operation is a reminder that from maintaining security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region to combating radical Islamist terrorism, the US-Australia relationship is more important than ever.”

He added that he asked Mr Hockey to “convey to the people of Australia” that Americans value their alliance.

#Australia is 1 of US's oldest friends & allies - called Aus Amb to US to express my unwavering support for alliance https://t.co/ODQeEpoA3H — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 2, 2017

House Speaker Paul Ryan also told media outlets on Capitol Hill about Trump’s heated exchange with the Australian prime minster, saying, “Australia is a very essential ally.”

WAR OVER LEAKS BEGINS

A stoush has erupted over who leaked the shocking details between Mr Turnbull and the President.

Former Australian Ambassador to the US Kim Beazley said Australia was not involved in the leak.

“These leaks did not come from Australia in any shape or form,” Mr Beazley said on ABC radio adding that they came from Trump’s office.

He said American officials who feel that they can’t get messages to the President will likely leak to help their cause.

But Trump’s top adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said the White House was not behind the leak.

“We’re the ones not leaking,” Ms. Conway said on Fox & Friends.

“You’re a little bit hamstrung when you’re the ones upholding either the law or, frankly, upholding a gentlemen’s agreement to not release.

“But I will say this: It’s dangerous to have these leaks, whether it’s the intelligence reports earlier … or calls like this,” she said.

Mr Beazley said the phone call was not ideal for Australia’s relationship with the US.

“We are in a fight in Iraq and we need a good relationship with all the facets of that community … by crikey this doesn’t help,” he said.

He also said foreign diplomats in the US are “reeling” since Trump came to office.

Mr Turnbull has continued to refuse to comment on his phone call with Trump or his thoughts on the President.

Speaking to John Laws on 2SM radio, the Prime Minister simple said: “He’s clearly a big personality”.

“I note that his official spokesman described the conversation as a cordial one this morning,” Mr Turnbull said.

“I can say that it was very frank, it was forthright.

“I always make my case as persuasively as I can, I stand up for Australia, I stand up for our interests.

“It’s obviously a deal he wouldn’t have done, he’s expressed his views about it, but he has committed to doing it.

“From my point of view ... we secured the commitment from the US President that we wanted and that we sought and we thank him for making that commitment.”

RUDD: ‘AUSTRALIA AND US WILL COPE WITH SNAFU’

Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the US-Australia alliance is “big enough, old enough and ugly enough” to cope with this recent “snafu”.

“I think this snafu will blow over and we’ll get back to the fundamentals of the relationship,” Mr Rudd said in an interview with CNN.

Mr Rudd said he knew from his own experience as Prime Minister the United States and Australia could cope with “testy and difficult” times.

“When I was prime minister of Australia, I came into office with President Bush, who was a strong proponent of the Iraq war,” he said.

“I was a bitter opponent of the war from the get-go, and we had some testy and difficult times.

“These things come and they go.

“The key thing, I think, is the fundamentals of this alliance has survived 14 US presidents, 14 Australian prime ministers, both sides of politics, and will keep going in the future because we have mutual interests at stake.”

TRUMP CASTS SCEPTICISM ON DEAL

As the White House confirmed a “horrible deal” between Australia and the US on refugees would remain, US President Donald Trump cast more scepticism.

He said he questioned the purpose of the agreement, and suggested the number of refugees could increase to 2,000, after the Trump administration agreed to honour an Obama-era plan to resettle 1,250 asylum seekers in the US.

“For whatever reason President Obama said that they were going to take probably well over a thousand illegal immigrants who were in prisons and they were going to bring them and take them into this country,” Trump said.

“And I just said why?”

“Why are we doing this?”

“We have to be treated fairly also, we have to be treated fairly.”

“So we’ll see what happens. When the previous administration does something, you have to respect that, but you can also say, why are we doing this?” he said.

Earlier, White House press secretary Sean Spicer described the conversation between President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about the refugee deal as “cordial”.

Mr Spicer said that Mr Trump would allow the deal struck under the previous Obama administration to continue, but would reserve the right to deny any refugee on a case-by-case basis.

“He does not like it but out of respect for (Mr Turnbull) he is going to allow that the process to continue,” he said. “Under the conditions that have been set that there will be extreme vetting on every single one of those individuals.”

“He wants to ensure while he has respect for the Australian people, respect for Prime Minister Turnbull, that we do not pose a threat to the American people,” he said.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON TURNBULL STOUSH

Mr Trump has continued his public stoush with Mr Turnbull by declaring he needs to make “tough phone calls” because nations are taking advantage of America.

At a speech in Washington DC overnight, Mr Trump said the world was in trouble but he was “going to straighten it out”.

“When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it,” Mr Trump told the audience.

“Just don’t worry about it. They’re tough. We have to be tough. It’s time we have to be a little tough folks. We are taken advantage of by every nation in the world virtually. It’s not going to happen anymore.”

AUSTRALIAN MPS REACT TO TURNBULL’S CALL

The federal Opposition says the Turnbull Government might need a Plan B for the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru.

Labor frontbencher Richard Marles said the prime minister must declare exactly what agreement he reached with Mr Trump.

“Labor supports this deal going ahead — and it’s time Malcolm Turnbull stood up and levelled with Australians about whether he has a deal or not,” Mr Marles said.

“And if the prime minister doesn’t know whether he has a deal, he needs to tell us what his plan is now that he has failed to stand up for Australia’s interests and values.”

Malcolm Turnbull’s colleagues are praising the prime minister for putting Australia first and pushing for the US refugee deal during his hostile call with Donald Trump.

Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne is insistent the arrangement struck with the Obama administration to take asylum seekers from Nauru and Manus Island still stands, despite Mr Trump labelling it the worst deal ever.

“Malcolm Turnbull stood up to it and the reality is Australia’s interests are being put first,” he told the Nine Network.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce told ABC radio Australia would continue to have a strong relationship with the US but said: “We also believe that if there is an agreement, there is an agreement.”

“That’s just relationships between countries and relationships between human beings,” the Nationals Leader said.

When asked what the strategy would be when normal diplomacy went out the window, Mr Joyce said Australia had been constant in its position but he could not answer for other people and “certainly could not answer for the President of the United States”.

BOB CARR SAYS ROBUST CHAT IS ‘HEALTHY’

Former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr believes the highly charged telephone call between Mr Trump and Mr Turnbull is “healthy” for Australia.

Speaking on ABC TV’s 7.30, Mr Carr said Mr Trump’s rudeness on the call between the two leaders and his “highly offensive tweet” that followed was a reminder that Australia was simply another alliance partner with the US.

Mr Carr also said President Trump’s “unprecedented rude treatment” was also a reminder of Australia’s status as an independent nation.

“This is a healthy thing for Australia, the response of Donald Trump to the phone call made by our PM,” Mr Carr told 7.30 host Stan Grant.

“I think it’s a reminder to Australians that America is different, America has changed. America is declaring it’s America first from now on. That’s a quote from the inauguration speech by the President. And I just think it’s healthy if we absorb that fact.

Everyone supports this alliance in Australia, there’s a consensus on that. It’s one of the pillars of Australian foreign policy but it’s not the be all and end all of Australia’s international character. That’s the point I’m making.”

Mr Carr, who served as Labor’s Minster for Foreign Affairs from March 2012 to September 2013, said Australia did not have a special relationship with American as many assumed.

“Stan, take that point on the notion that somehow we’ve got the most special relationship with America in the world,” the former NSW Premier said.

“I could easily give you a list of 20 countries that hold that belief. America is the proud possessor of an alliance system, it’s one of the things that distinguishes the US and advantages it over any other contenders for global leadership. And it’s useful if Australians understand that Poland, for example, would regard itself as having every bit a special a relationship with the US as Australia. That Barack Obama on his farewell tour to Europe was talking about Germany as America’s most important partner in the world. In Britain, the Trans Atlantic Alliance is regarded as the apostles’ creed.

“We have to be practical about the alliance. It is not the only path of our international personality. And if this rude dismissal of the representations by an Australian PM altogether legitimate representations by President Trump serves to remind Australians of that

great truth, then it’s a good and healthy thing.”

TRUMP HITS OUT ON TWITTER OVER NEWS REPORT

Mr Trump hit back on Twitter after details of his shocking phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were revealed, slamming the refugee deal as ‘dumb’.

In the scathing tweet, he said: “Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!”

The tweet was posted around 11pm Washington time and once again throws the refugee resettlement deal into limbo.

Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017

TRUMP V TURNBULL CALL: SHOCKING DETAILS LEAKED

It comes after a report in The Washington Post , where senior US officials briefed on the conversation said President Trump hung up on Mr Turnbull after 25 minutes, when their call was meant to be an hour long.

President Trump reportedly criticised Mr Turnbull over his refu­gee agreement formerly made with President Barack Obama, and boasted about his electoral college win.

After a series of phone calls made on Sunday, Mr Turnbull was the last call President Trump took.

“This was the worst call by far,” he is quoted as saying. “This is the worst deal ever.”

It is understood the President complained that he was “going to get killed” politically and accused Australia of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers”.

At one point, Mr Turnbull suggested that the two leaders move on from their impasse over refugees to discuss the conflict in Syria and other pressing foreign issues.

But President Trump demurred and ended the call, making it far shorter than his conversations with Shinzo Abe of Japan, Angela Merkel of Germany, François Hollande of France or Putin of Russia.

CNN’s White House Correspondent Jim Acosta also tweeted that according to one of his sources, President Trump pulled the phone away from ear and wanted to get off the call.

Sky News Australia sources also claimed today that President Trump “yelled” at Mr Turnbull in the heated exchange.

During call with Australian PM on refugees, Trump pulled phone away from ear and says he wants off call, which ends abruptly per source. — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 2, 2017

TURNBULL WON’T REVEAL DETAILS

Mr Turnbull has refused to go into details of his discussion with President Trump.

“The report that the president hung up is not correct, the call ended courteously,” he told 2GB radio this afternoon.

He backed this statement up during an interview with 3AW radio, saying he was “disappointed” about the leak but some information had not been accurate.

“It was a 25-minute call, it covered a number of issues but the bulk of the time was spent on the refugee resettlement deal,” he said.

The Prime Minister also responded to President Trump’s tweet, saying the facts were President Trump had given an assurance during their conversation that the deal would go ahead, White House press secretary Sean Spicer confirmed that in a briefing on Wednesday and the US embassy in Canberra reconfirmed it yesterday.

“I do stand up for Australia but I can assure you the call was courteous,” Mr Turnbull said.

“I’m not going to comment on a conversation between myself and the President of the United States other than what we have said publicly,” he said.

“You can surely understand the reasons for that. I appreciate your interest, but it’s better that these things - these conversations are conducted candidly, frankly, privately. If you see reports of them, I’m not going to add to them.”

The details come as the White House and US State Department were sending mixed messages on whether President Trump would still honour a deal with Australia to resettle refugees in the US.

Turnbull - I'm not going to comment on conversation with Trump Turnbull - I'm not going to comment on conversation with Trump

DEAL OR NO DEAL?

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Canberra said yesterday President Trump would honour the refugee agreement.

“President Trump’s decision to honour the refugee agreement has not changed and Spokesman Spicer’s comments stand,” the spokesperson said.

“This was just confirmed to the State Department from the WH and on to this embassy at 13.15 Canberra time.”

But in a statement provided to ABC, the White House press office confirmed President Trump might still torpedo the deal made between Mr Turnbull and President Obama.

“The President is still considering whether or not he will move forward with this deal at this time,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, a statement from the State Department appears to contradict the message coming out of the White House.

“Out of respect for close ties to our Australian ally and friend, we will honour the agreement to accept some refugees from resettlement centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea,” a State Department official said in a statement provided to the ABC.

“Any refugees coming to US shores would only come to the United States in accordance with the recently signed executive order.”

TRUMP WAS ‘UPSET’ BY THE DEAL

One of the journalists behind The Washington Post report, Philip Rucker, told Sky News Australia that his sources told him that President Trump “got angry on the call” with Mr Turnbull.

“He blasted the Prime Minister,” he said.

“The Prime Minister and President Trump agreed that the number of these refugees would be allowed to be part of the screening process.”

He also said the President was “upset” by the agreement and said it was his “intention” to keep it, which gave him room to negotiate on it.

Mr Rucker also told the ABC he and his colleague Greg Miller had been briefed on some of the exact quotations from the Trump-Turnbull phone call by senior US officials.

Mr Rucker said sources had told him President Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin was much longer.

President Trump “doesn’t really care” that Australia has been a long-term ally of the US, he is more concerned about his domestic refugee policy, Mr Rucker said.

“The thing you have to understand about Donald Trump is that he is not a natural diplomat, he is not a politician,” he told the ABC.

“He has a career in real estate, in business and deal-making, and he ran for President as somebody who was going to disrupt the world order.

.@gregpmiller: @TurnbullMalcolm 'taken off guard' by @POTUS's tone during their terse discussion over the US-Australia refugee deal pic.twitter.com/m4r2dGoJvJ — Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 2, 2017

“He was going to make changes and he was going to blow up the system, literally, and disrupt what he sees as a world order that is failing the world and making it more dangerous and less safe.

“And so he doesn’t really care so much that Australia is an ally over many, many years.

“What he cares about is the refugee policy that ... he views as dangerous for the United States.

“So he didn’t let diplomatic niceties get in the way of how he felt about that refugee policy.”

ASSURANCES ON RESETTLEMENT DEAL

Mr Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday President Trump had given an assurance that the deal would go ahead in their phone conversation on Sunday.

“The Trump administration has committed to progress with the arrangements to honour the deal, if you like, that was entered into with the Obama administration,” Mr Turnbull said.

“That was the assurance the president gave me when we spoke on the weekend.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Wednesday the deal to resettle refugees held on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island would be honoured but the individuals would be subject to “extreme vetting”.

“The deal specifically deals with 1250 people that are mostly in Papua New Guinea being held,” he said.

“Those people, part of the deal, is they have to be vetted in the same manner that we are doing now.”

HOW THE REFUGEE AGREEMENT UNFOLDED

November 13, 2016: The Turnbull Government unveils the refugee resettlement deal with the United States agreed to under the Obama administration. Australia will take refugees from Central America in exchange for the US resettling people currently on Nauru and Manus Island as part of a one-off agreement.

January 27, 2017: President Trump signs an executive order on immigration, banning citizens from seven majority Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days and halting all refugee resettlement for 120 days.

January 29, 2017: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says he will honour pledge to resettle 1250 refugees from Nauru and Manus Island during a 25-minute conversation with Mr Turnbull despite his executive order on immigration.

Fe bruary 1, 2017: Media reports the White House has backtracked on a promise to honour the refugee deal with Australia, saying President Trump is still considering whether it will go ahead. Mr Turnbull says he’s confident it will be given the green light.

February 2, 2017: Media reports President Trump reportedly blasted Mr Turnbull during a phone conversation, calling the refugee resettlement agreement the “worst deal ever”. Mr Turnbull doesn’t comment on the conversation, instead saying he is assured the deal will still go ahead.