Manus, Nauru deal a quid pro quo for US Costa Rica refugees: Dutton

Julie Bishop splits hairs after Peter Dutton says Costa Rica refugees won’t be accepted until US takes those on Nauru and Manus.

Immigration Minister Peter says he expects refugees from Manus Island and Nauru to be resettled in America “in the next couple of months”.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says a refugee agreement with the United States is not a “people-swap deal” after it was revealed Australia would not accept Costa Rican refugees until America took in those on Nauru and Manus Island.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton last night confirmed Australia and the US had entered into a “beneficial” quid pro quo arrangement following months of government refusals that the agreements were dependent on each other.

Mr Dutton said he would not call it a people-swap deal but conceded he had “no problem with that characterisation”.

“We wouldn’t take anyone until we had assurances that people were going to go off Nauru and Manus,” Mr Dutton told Sky News.

“One of the lessons that we’ve learned from past arrangements, say the Malaysia deal for example that Julia Gillard entered into, we accepted all the people from Malaysia, not one person went from Australia - so we’re not going to be sucked into that sort of a silly outcome.”

Asked if she would call the arrangement a people-swap deal, Ms Bishop, who is in the US to meet with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said: “That’s not the way I would characterise it.

“We are seeking to resettle a number of people who came via the people smuggling trade and have been in Nauru, in particular, with the United States. But we will continue to take in refugees from across the world as we’ve always done.”

Mr Dutton said he expected refugees from Manus Island and Nauru to be resettled in America “in the next couple of months” after US President Donald Trump labelled the deal, struck under Barack Obama’s presidency, “dumb”.

The White House recommitted to the intake of up to 1250 people and officials on the islands have been going through a process of “extreme vetting”.

“All of the signs indicate the officials are working well. It’s the case that we take the US at its word. We appreciate the support of President Trump to continue the arrangement,” Mr Dutton said.

“(This arrangement) was beneficial to the US and it was beneficial to us … I act in our best national interest, I think we’ve done that in this deal.

“The US aren’t taking any more people in their program than what they otherwise would have taken in a calendar year.”

Labor’s defence spokesman Richard Marles labelled Mr Dutton’s comments “remarkable” and a “stuff up”, saying it now appeared there was a refugee deal clinched by the Prime Minister.

“That’s not what he said last year. In fact every time this was put to Malcolm Turnbull he said there was no deal in relation to the Costa Rica (refugees),” Mr Marles said on Sky News.

“Everyone knew it was a deal and last night Peter Dutton, playing politics as always, belled the cat when he made it clear that it was contingent, that taking people from Costa Rica was contingent on America taking those on Manus and Nauru.”

Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann today attacked the government for inconsistency over Mr Dutton’s remarks, saying the arrangement to take refugees from Costa Rica had never been referred to as a “people swap”.

He seized on Ms Bishop’s statement in the US -- where the Foreign Minister denied the existence of a people swap-deal -- to accuse the government of “dysfunction, disunity and division.”

Mr Neumann accused Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Dutton and Ms Bishop of misleading the Australian public over the deal.