Malcolm Turnbull admits he didn’t raise US refugee deal with president-elect Donald Trump

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull did not discuss the US-Australian refugee resettlement deal with President-elect Donald Trump in their first official talks last week.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has told Sky News the deal to resettle refugees to the United States was negotiated before Donald Trump’s election, so he didn’t raise it with him. Picture: AAP

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull did not discuss the US-Australian refugee resettlement deal with President-elect Donald Trump in their first official talks last week.

The Prime Minister told Sky News the one-off deal announced on Sunday, which would see refugees currently on Manus Island and Nauru resettled in the US, was initiated in talks with President Obama in January.

Mr Turnbull said America and Australia were strong allies that were “very honest and frank” with one another but said “you only deal with one administration at a time”.

In a wideranging discussion which covered Mr Turnbull being uninvited from the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to Mr Trump’s attitudes to women, the Prime Minister also pushed for the Opposition to back a lifetime ban for refugees who come to Australia by boat.

“We need to send a very clear unequivocal message to people smugglers,” Mr Turnbull said.

“We are dealing in a propaganda war with people smugglers.

“These criminals are very adept marketers.”

Referencing Mr Trump’s now infamous ‘grab them by the pussy’ comment, Mr Turnbull said he had previously dubbed the remarks loathsome but the President-elect had apologised, disowned the comments and said it wasn’t his real character.

“My view is that assessment of his character is a matter for the American people,” he said.

Mr Turnbull said there was “plenty to get worried about” as Prime Minister of Australia but said he was confident Mr Trump would act in the interests of his country and not lead America into “economic cataclysm” in his renegotiation of trade deals.