Malcolm Turnbull has moved to assert that “nothing has changed” in the government’s approach to resettling 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Australia, after calls from some church leaders and ministers for a significant focus on Christians.The prime minister indicated on Sunday that Christians would be among the refugees resettled by Australia, but this would be as a consequence of the government’s overarching focus on persecuted minorities, women and children.
And he revealed he was talking almost every day to the immigration minister,Peter Dutton, to ensure the smooth implementation of the government’s decision.
A report in the Weekend Australian newspaper took some senior government players by surprise because they thought the policy was being implemented in line with the decision the cabinet made shortly before Tony Abbott was ousted in September. There was a clear cabinet determination under Abbott that the focus would be on women, children and persecuted minorities.
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