Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

QUESTION: Has there been a deal with Jacqui Lambie to secure the asylum seekers off Manus Island and Nauru?

MATHIAS CORMANN: There has been no secret deal with Senator Lambie or anybody else. As the Prime Minister made very clear yesterday the only undertaking that we have given is that we would continue to implement our policies when it comes to our strong border protection arrangements and to our resettlement arrangements.

QUESTION: Was Senator Lambie given a written assurance that asylum seekers would be removed from offshore detention?

MATHIAS CORMANN: We have provided Senator Lambie with detailed information, including classified information. I am not going to go into the detail of how all of that information was communicated. But again, we provided detailed briefings, detailed information, classified information. At the end of that process Senator Lambie, by her own words, was satisfied that the repeal of the bad medivac laws was warranted and she was satisfied with the direction of the Government’s policy agenda. 

QUESTION: So no assurance whatsoever that refugees would be resettled in New Zealand?

MATHIAS CORMANN: The resettlement arrangements that the Government is pursuing are with the United States. Again yesterday Minister Dutton provided an update in relation to those resettlement arrangements. I will let Minister Dutton as the Minister for Home Affairs continue to provide updates in relation to progress of resettlement arrangements.

QUESTION: Will the Government re-consider the New Zealand option once the US deal is completed?

MATHIAS CORMANN: The Government is pursing resettlement arrangements with the United States. The updates in relation to how that is progressing is a matter for the Minister for Immigration. He will continue to provide those updates as appropriate. 

QUESTION: Would you rule out taking up the New Zealand offer once the US one is done?

MATHIAS CORMANN: I am not the Minister for Home Affairs. I am the Minister for Finance. As I have indicated to you the Government has not made any changes to Government policy in relation to border protection or resettlement arrangements or anything else in order to secure Senator Lambie’s vote. What we have done is provide detailed information, detailed briefings, classified briefings to Senator Lambie. At the end of that process, we were pleased that Senator Lambie was sufficiently satisfied to support our medivac repeal legislation.

QUESTION: So the current Government policy is not to send asylum seekers to New Zealand. So that hasn’t changed then?

MATHIAS CORMANN: We are pursuing resettlement arrangements through the United States. Minister Dutton again provided an update in relation to these matters yesterday. Those resettlement arrangements with the United States were severely undermined by Labor’s bad medivac laws. As of yesterday, those bad laws have been repealed. We will continue to pursue resettlement arrangements with the United States. Minister Dutton is the appropriate Minister to continue to provide those updates.  

QUESTION: So does the repeal now provide for those people to go back to Manus Island and Nauru after they have had medical treatment here?

MATHIAS CORMANN: Under the legislation that has passed, those that have been transferred to Australia under those medivac laws which have now been repealed can be returned.

QUESTION: What was Senator Lambie speaking about then when she said she put a proposal to the Government? What is that proposal?

MATHIAS CORMANN: Again, a proposal is not a deal. It is a matter of public record that Senator Lambie put various issues to us. In response we provided detailed briefings, detailed information, classified briefings about the Government’s policies on border protection, on resettlement arrangements. At the end of that process Senator Lambie, as she has expressed through her vote, was satisfied that the repeal of the medivac laws was warranted. She was clearly satisfied that the Government was heading in a direction that she supported.

QUESTION: Are you saying that there was a specific proposal that she put to you that was then rejected?

MATHIAS CORMANN: I am not going to go into the private conversations between the Government and non-Government Senators. We never do. What I will say, very clearly and emphatically, is that we have not made any changes to policy on border protection, on resettlement arrangements or on anything else in order to secure Senator Lambie’s vote. The only undertaking that we made, as the Prime Minister also made very clear yesterday is that we will continue to implement our policies on border protection and resettlement arrangements.

QUESTION: Does the Government have a timetable now for Manus Island to be closed down and Nauru. You’ve got 2024, is that your…

MATHIAS CORMANN: You are going well beyond the remit for the Minister for Finance. I would encourage you to ask these questions to the Minister for Home Affairs.

QUESTION: Just on another issue, do you have any concerns about trials being conducted completely in secret in Australia?

MATHIAS CORMANN: I think that that sounds to me like a question that should go to the Attorney General.

Thank you.