Transcript
The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull revealed the refugee deal was still on the table after a phone call with President Trump on Sunday.
"We also discussed the resettlement arrangement of Refugees from Nauru and Manus and I thanked President Trump for his commitment to honour that existing agreement. The acceptance of any individual by the United States into their refugee programme is a matter for the government of the United States and for their own security screening which is very rigorous, just as our screening is very rigorous for the refugees that we accept n Australia."
With the vast majority of the detainees coming from Iran, reports suggest Canberra put pressure on the US to exempt the deal from Mr Trump's order to suspend immigration from Iran and six other countries for 90 days.
The Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison praised Mr Turnbull's negotiations with Mr Trump.
"They're both business people, aren't they, they know a deal is a deal. The Prime Minister has done an excellent job in being able to continue this arrangement."
But with the US process of interviewing and accepting the detainees expected to be painfully slow, it's unclear whether the deal with Australia would have actually been hindered by the four month suspension of US refugee programme.
US Immigration officials have already visited Nauru, but the US embassy in Canberra could not confirm if next month's visit to Manus would still go ahead.
Stricter rules for admitting refugees are expected under President Trump and the refugee action coalition's, Ian Rintoul says that means some detainees will be left behind.
"We know that Border Force officials on Nauru were rushing around reassuring people that the deal was going to go ahead, but that still is not going to mean that everybody on Nauru is going to be properly resettled. Great if they can get resettlement for those that want it in the US, but the wider demand that we have is that the government really should be providing a guarantee that no one is going to be left behind and that everyone ultimately will be resettled in the US or in Australia."
The Director of Advocacy at Australia's human rights law centre, Daniel Webb, says the Australian Prime Minister knows he cant leave any detainees behind on Nauru and Manus Island.
"You don't go to the United States and ask America to agree to start resettling refugees from Nauru and Manus unless you accept that you cant just leave them on Nauru and Manus forever. This painful chapter in their lives and this dark chapter in Australia's history doesn't end until every single one of those people has been evacuated to safety. Now for some maybe at some point in the future they'll get their chance in America, but for the rest they should be brought to Australia."
Daniel Webb says detainees on Nauru and Manus Island are exhausted by uncertainty and Australia needs humane options to end for their indefinite detention.
This is Ben Robinson Drawbridge.
