I want to pay tribute to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force - the Navy and the Australian Border Force, who for over 840 days have kept Australia's borders secure and ensured that there have been no successful people smuggling ventures to Australia.
Our ability to restore the integrity of our borders, to our ability to stop the people smuggling trade, has enabled us now not only to close 17 detention centres in Australia, not only to take the thousands of children out of detention that the Labor Party put into detention. But now to reach the new arrangement with the United States that will offer resettlement in the United States to persons on Nauru and Manus, who are currently on Nauru and Manus. This is a one-off deal, a one-off opportunity. It applies only to refugees on the regional processing centres on Nauru and Manus. It is not available to anyone who seeks to come subsequently to Australia.
The foundation of our multicultural society - the most successful in the world. The foundation of our generous humanitarian programs is secure borders. It is the security of those borders and the ability to ensure that it is the Australian Government, on behalf of the Australian people, that determines who comes to Australia. That is the foundation of our ability to be generous and compassionate to refugees.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister when do you expect the first resettlements to occur? Do you think that that will happen before Donald Trump is inaugurated in January?
PRIME MINISTER:
This is a matter for the United States Government. Their officials will be coming to Australia in the next few days and then travelling up to Nauru. Obviously we'd like to see this arrangement proceeded within a speedy manner, but that is very much in the hands of the United States Government.
JOURNALIST:
Can you provide more information about the numbers that are likely to be accepted?
PRIME MINISTER:
Again that is a matter for the US Government. There are around 1,600 persons on Nauru and Manus who have been afforded or granted refugee status - who would be eligible. But the numbers and the assessment of the people is a matter for both the UNHCR and above all of course, the Government of the United States.
JOURNALIST:
PM are you confident that the new Trump Administration won't overturn this deal?
PRIME MINISTER:
We have a very long history of cooperation with the United States. The United States has no closer ally, we have no closer ally. So we have a very long history of cooperation with the United States where we, in matters of this kind, where we are able to pursue our mutual and our respective humanitarian and national security objectives.
JOURNALIST:
Here you have got a President who wants to put up a wall between Mexico and the US to keep refugees out, keep people out. Do you really expect that he will honour a commitment to potentially bring 1,600 in?
PRIME MINISTER:
The refugees that would be granted resettlement in the United States under these arrangements do not add to America's quota. That's within their overall quota so America has an ongoing commitment, an ongoing refugee humanitarian program, just as we do, and the mix of that program can be changed. You saw in New York a few months ago, I announced that we would be taking refugees from Central America. So we are able to adjust the mix of that with those programs and to do so, obviously in a spirit of cooperation and recognising, as I said mutual and respective objectives.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have concerns that people smugglers could use a US deal as a selling point to people in Indonesian camps?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, we recognise that the people smugglers - ruthless, criminals that they are, will endeavour to use this as a marketing opportunity. That is why we have deployed the largest maritime surveillance and response effort to our north in our peace time history. That's why we have gone to great lengths in preparing for this. That's why late last year; I ensured that we acquired an additional large-hull vessel to add to our defences. We've been very systemic about this. But our message to the people smugglers is very straight forward. You will fail - you will not succeed in your ventures to Australia. The arrangements with the United States are one-off. They apply only to those people that are on Nauru and Manus and that is it. So any future ventures will be turned back.
JOURNALIST:
Are we paying any costs associated with the deal? And what costs would be borne by the US?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the United States and Australia, as I said, have a long history of cooperation in matters of this kind. We cooperate and we meet our own costs, obviously. But we pursue both our mutual and our respective objectives.
JOURNALIST:
You must know a cost though. How are we talking in dollars here?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't want to add any more to what I've said about the arrangements, but the critical thing is that it is in the context of a long history of cooperation and one that has been and one that is very extensive.
JOURNALIST:
Can I just ask you on the Orange by-election, it looks as though the Nats are going to lose. Does it send a message that politicians do need to listen to the concerns of constituents and electorates?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there is no question that politicians have to listen to their electorates. Listen very carefully to their electorates. They have to respond to the concerns of their constituents who are able to send a very strong message as indeed we've seen in the Orange by-election. But you know, turning to another politician- Mr Shorten. The time has come for him to listen to the Australian people who want to keep our borders secure. They know, the Australian people know that Labor failed Australia. Labor's policy was a tragic catastrophe - 50,000 unauthorised arrivals, 1,200 deaths at sea, of which we know. And we have been systematically cleaning up that mess, dealing with that catastrophe.
We've closed the detention centres in Australia. We've got the kids out of detention. We're now establishing resettlement options for people on Nauru and Manus that Labor left there. That is Labor's doing. And what we need to do is send the most unequivocal message that those who seek to come to Australia with a people smuggler will not be able to come to Australia. The legislation which has passed the House and will go to the Senate when we resume, is absolutely critical in sending that message. And I say to Mr Shorten - you know the Australian people support the Government in sending this clear and unequivocal message. You know Australians want their borders kept secure, you know that Australia recognises that our policy on border protection has worked. You claim you’re on a unity ticket with us, well words are cheap, what we need is action – we need deeds, we need the Labor Party to support that legislation in the Senate.
JOURNALIST:
On that issue, Mr Turnbull, Labor says they will support this US deal but by the same token, when Labor tried to get the Malaysia Solution through a couple of years ago, the Abbott Opposition voted that down.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there is no comparison. The Malaysia arrangement that Labor proposed was actually ruled unlawful by the High Court of Australia.
Let me raise another matter where Mr Shorten should listen to the Australian people. Having distinguished himself by personally abusing Mr Trump prior to his election as President of the United States, he now says that he wants to heed the lessons of Ohio and Michigan. And he wants to stand up for Australian jobs. Well, this is what he's doing in the Senate at the moment: Mr Shorten is supporting the proposition that foreign backpackers, foreign workers, should pay no tax at all. So that if you have a foreign worker, a backpacker working picking fruit next to an Australian, the Australian will be paying tax but the foreigner won't. How is that standing up for Australian workers?
His inconsistency and his incoherence, his cynicism is there for all to see. Mr Shorten has to get serious. He's got to display some self-control so that he doesn't engage in personal abuse of foreign leaders regardless of what his personal views may be - he's entitled to his personal opinions, we all are, but leaders and people who seek to be leaders have got to exercise self-discipline. You've also got to show consistency. We stand up for Australian jobs. We are creating Australian jobs. We have strong economic growth in Australia. We have strong jobs growth.
Mr Shorten is now flirting with protectionism and questioning free trade. How is that going to help the coal miners of Queensland? How is that going to help the sugar farmers? The truth of the matter is, right across the board our ability to access the big markets in Asia that have been opened up by free trade agreements, that Labor opposed, has been one of the key elements in ensuring that Australia's adjustment, our transition from the mining construction boom and its tailing off, has not been as severe as many predicted. The reason we have strong jobs growth in Australia, the reason we have had a transition that has not been the hard landing that many expected is because of the considered, deliberate, economic leadership that my Government has delivered. Mr Shorten should focus on delivery. He should focus on consistency. He should focus on the Australian people who he seeks to represent instead of his shabby day-to-day political games.
JOURNALIST:
Just before we let you go, can we get a quick comment on the New Zealand quake?
PRIME MINISTER:
I spoke to John Key this morning, about an hour or so ago. John told me that the quake was a very big one, it was actually on the Richter Scale higher than the Christchurch earthquake but it was very deep. It's affected the whole of New Zealand. Indeed John sent me some pictures of his office where tables and chairs and cupboards thrown about in Wellington and of course, it's been felt right up in Auckland. It's a deep quake. To date, there are reports of two casualties, two fatalities. I have passed on to John our sincere condolences on those deaths, our hope that there will be no others identified. I've also conveyed to him our absolute solidarity.
New Zealand has a great Prime Minister in John Key and they have a lot of experience with earthquakes and natural disasters, so they are well set up to deal with this but they know, the New Zealanders know, just as we know, that when natural disaster strikes we are in absolute solidarity. I have pledged to John all resources that he needs from us will be made available and he's appreciated that. As I said, it's a very serious earthquake, a very deep one and they'll be assessing the damage and wherever we can help, we will. Thanks a lot.