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| Poll bounce for Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition – politics live | Poll bounce for Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.54pm BST22:54 | |
| Refugee advocate Pamela Curr is on ABC radio in Melbourne now. Curr is one of the people who (presumably) has just been branded a fabricator by PDuddy. | |
| Curr says its true that some ‘facts’ in the case are disputed, but she’s sticking by her version of events. Curr says, concerning the termination, she believes the woman was not given a chance to say what she wanted. | |
| ABC host Jon Faine asks her whether she’s using the circumstances of this individual case to contrive permanent residency for this woman. | |
| Curr doesn’t address Faine’s point specifically but says she works in a contentious field. | |
| She says if you position yourself on the side of human rights in the Australian asylum debate, things will get willing. | |
| Pamela Curr: | |
| That is the nature of a contentious policy. | |
| 10.39pm BST22:39 | |
| Shalailah Medhora | |
| Dutton was doorstopped by journalists shortly after his grilling on Radio National. | |
| He reiterated the point that Australia sent the 23-year old Somali refugee known as Abyan back to Nauru because she changed her mind about having an abortion, and only after she was reviewed by medical professionals. | |
| Counselling and other services were provided to Abyan even before she arrived in Australia, Dutton said. “I am advised that counselling was provided to the lady before she departed Nauru, and assistance otherwise no doubt,” the immigration minister said. He has not ruled out bringing the woman, who alleges that she was raped on Nauru, back to Australia if she decides she does want the termination. “We’ll make a decision that we believe is in the best interests of the patient,” Dutton said. “That will be the test that we apply.” | |
| The immigration minister also refuted claims from a New Zealand MP, as first reported by Guardian Australia on Saturday, that Kiwis sentenced and jailed for minor offences were among the detainees awaiting deportation from Australian facilities. He did, however, admit that security on Christmas Island was being beefed up, as the detention facility there is being increasingly used to house bikie gang members and other high risk offenders awaiting deportation. “It is true that there have been upgrades at the Christmas Island facility because we... will cancel visas of people who pose significant risk to the Australian public, as well as people otherwise who have had their visas cancelled,” Dutton said. | |
| 10.34pm BST22:34 | 10.34pm BST22:34 |
| Peter Dutton: "The accounts have shifted in the last few days .." | Peter Dutton: "The accounts have shifted in the last few days .." |
| The immigration minister Peter Dutton has been interviewed by ABC Radio National about the truly terrible case of a Somali refugee allegedly raped and impregnated on Nauru. | |
| Controversy about this case has raged over this past weekend. | Controversy about this case has raged over this past weekend. |
| As my colleague Shalailah Medhora reports, the 23-year old woman, known as Abyan, was flown back to Nauru from Australia on Friday. The refugee had been in Australia for an abortion, a procedure difficult to access on Nauru. | As my colleague Shalailah Medhora reports, the 23-year old woman, known as Abyan, was flown back to Nauru from Australia on Friday. The refugee had been in Australia for an abortion, a procedure difficult to access on Nauru. |
| Dutton has said Abyan was flown out back out of Australia because she had changed her mind about having the termination. He denied claims that she was removed before lawyers could seek an injunction prohibiting her return to Nauru. But the refugee’s lawyer, George Newhouse, told Guardian Australia she had not changed her mind about wanting a termination. | Dutton has said Abyan was flown out back out of Australia because she had changed her mind about having the termination. He denied claims that she was removed before lawyers could seek an injunction prohibiting her return to Nauru. But the refugee’s lawyer, George Newhouse, told Guardian Australia she had not changed her mind about wanting a termination. |
| Dutton has evidently had enough of being the bad guy. During his ABC interview, he unloaded on the advocates attempting to assist the woman – accusing refugee advocates of a gross breach of the woman’s privacy, and worse, of “trading off this lady’s very difficult circumstances.” | Dutton has evidently had enough of being the bad guy. During his ABC interview, he unloaded on the advocates attempting to assist the woman – accusing refugee advocates of a gross breach of the woman’s privacy, and worse, of “trading off this lady’s very difficult circumstances.” |
| He’s also alleged various (unnamed) people have fabricated accounts of what’s occurred over the past few days. Dutton told his host Fran Kelly accounts of her treatment and circumstances “have shifted over the past few days.” PDuddy thinks the advocates should be held to account for the inconsistencies. | He’s also alleged various (unnamed) people have fabricated accounts of what’s occurred over the past few days. Dutton told his host Fran Kelly accounts of her treatment and circumstances “have shifted over the past few days.” PDuddy thinks the advocates should be held to account for the inconsistencies. |
| PDuddy says the government has been trying to assist the woman – hence the charter flight to Australia and then transport back to Nauru. Asked whether she’ll be permitted to return to Australia for a termination, Dutton said the government would seek to act in the woman’s best interests, however the government was in the business of providing medical support, not migration outcomes. | PDuddy says the government has been trying to assist the woman – hence the charter flight to Australia and then transport back to Nauru. Asked whether she’ll be permitted to return to Australia for a termination, Dutton said the government would seek to act in the woman’s best interests, however the government was in the business of providing medical support, not migration outcomes. |
| The woman issued a hand written statement over the weekend via her lawyer, which has been published by Fairfax. | The woman issued a hand written statement over the weekend via her lawyer, which has been published by Fairfax. |
| It reads: | It reads: |
| I was raped on Nauru. I have been very sick. I have never said thate [sic] I did not want a termination. I never saw a doctor. I saw a nurse at a clinic but there was no counselling. I [also] saw a nurse at Villawood but there was no interpreter. I asked but was not allowed to talk with my lawyer. | I was raped on Nauru. I have been very sick. I have never said thate [sic] I did not want a termination. I never saw a doctor. I saw a nurse at a clinic but there was no counselling. I [also] saw a nurse at Villawood but there was no interpreter. I asked but was not allowed to talk with my lawyer. |
| Please help me. | Please help me. |
| If you need one story to give you a clean read-through of the weekend events, here’s the latest news wrap from my colleague Ben Doherty. | |
| Updated at 10.58pm BST | |
| 10.02pm BST22:02 | 10.02pm BST22:02 |
| Good morning good people | Good morning good people |
| Good morning and welcome to Monday in Canberra. The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the opinion polls are bouncing. More than likely. | Good morning and welcome to Monday in Canberra. The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the opinion polls are bouncing. More than likely. |
| Fairfax Media’s Ipsos poll, published in the various outlets this morning, has the Coalition ahead of Labor 53-47 on two-party-preferred terms, and Malcolm Turnbull has opened up a crushing lead as preferred prime minister. It’s the best poll for the Coalition since the last federal election. Last week, the Newspoll had good news for Turnbull personally as well – a positive reception from voters – but the major parties were deadlocked on 50-50. | |
| Just a general observation. It’s pretty obvious Turnbull has delivered a sugar hit for the government. Given Tony Abbott’s consistently dreadful poll numbers, and with due respect to the new prime minister, anyone credible who wasn’t Tony Abbott would deliver a poll bounce for the government. The question is how substantial – and can the improvement be sustained? Theoretically at least, we are a year out from the next election, and a budget and a tax policy and other challenges lie in between then and now. | Just a general observation. It’s pretty obvious Turnbull has delivered a sugar hit for the government. Given Tony Abbott’s consistently dreadful poll numbers, and with due respect to the new prime minister, anyone credible who wasn’t Tony Abbott would deliver a poll bounce for the government. The question is how substantial – and can the improvement be sustained? Theoretically at least, we are a year out from the next election, and a budget and a tax policy and other challenges lie in between then and now. |
| Another general observation. Ipsos seems more volatile than other major newspaper opinion polls. | Another general observation. Ipsos seems more volatile than other major newspaper opinion polls. |
| The Australian Financial Review’s political editor, Laura Tingle, reflects on the gap between the two surveys in a comment piece this morning. | |
| Now it is possible that in the last week, particularly in the wake of the Cayman Islands affair, voters’ views on Turnbull have crystallised. Alternatively, it may be that Newspoll didn’t quite pick the strength of a trend to the new prime minister and Ipsos has picked up more of a trend than was actually there. The bottom line for our pollies, though, is that the Ipsos poll is going to leave Labor feeling very sick – and the Coalition very relieved. | |
| Tingle points out, correctly of course, that the trend (teensy thing that it currently is) is our friend. | Tingle points out, correctly of course, that the trend (teensy thing that it currently is) is our friend. |
| The underlying trends – the surge of support for Turnbull, the relief that Tony Abbott is gone, and the rise in the Coalition’s primary vote and decline in Labor’s primary vote – are not in dispute among pollsters doing quantitative and qualitative polling. | The underlying trends – the surge of support for Turnbull, the relief that Tony Abbott is gone, and the rise in the Coalition’s primary vote and decline in Labor’s primary vote – are not in dispute among pollsters doing quantitative and qualitative polling. |
| If we screen out the noise, and cut to the chase, right now, you’d rather be Malcolm Turnbull than Bill Shorten, with the obvious caveats – a long way to go, anything can happen, and so on and so forth. | If we screen out the noise, and cut to the chase, right now, you’d rather be Malcolm Turnbull than Bill Shorten, with the obvious caveats – a long way to go, anything can happen, and so on and so forth. |
| Rather like Politics Live. Long way to go. Anything can happen – and it very often does. In recognition of these verities I’ve opened the comments thread, and will do my best to visit throughout the day. We are also up and at ‘em on the Twits @murpharoo and @mpbowers | Rather like Politics Live. Long way to go. Anything can happen – and it very often does. In recognition of these verities I’ve opened the comments thread, and will do my best to visit throughout the day. We are also up and at ‘em on the Twits @murpharoo and @mpbowers |
| Buckle up, here comes Monday. | Buckle up, here comes Monday. |
| Updated at 11.09pm BST |