A fresh political storm has erupted over reports the Albanese government is preparing to repatriate another group of wives and children of Islamic State fighters from Syria, with the opposition demanding transparency and warning of security risks.
The Australian reported that more than a dozen women, children and young men are set to be evacuated from Al Roj camp in Syria and brought to New South Wales and Victoria before Christmas in a top-secret mission.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected the claims during parliamentary question time, insisting, “Those reports are not accurate,” a line echoed by Foreign Minister Penny Wong. However, a senior NSW Police officer confirmed discussions about repatriation were taking place.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott weighed into the debate, declaring that spouses of ISIS fighters had “no moral right to come back” to Australia. He accused Albanese of “being cute with the truth” by denying the government’s role while police prepared to receive the group.
“People who have rejected our country and its values have, effectively, surrendered its citizenship,” Abbott told Sky News. He urged the opposition to table legislation stripping citizenship and residency from anyone who joined a declared terrorist organisation.
Abbott, who in 2014 committed Australia to join US-led strikes against Islamic State, described ISIS as a “gruesome and barbarous terrorist group” and said there was “not the slightest bit of hard evidence” that the women had recanted their extremist beliefs.
“Obviously, these people who left Australia to join Islamic state, a gruesome barbarous terrorist group have effectively rejected our country its values and citizenship and I don’t believe they have any moral right to come back.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley declared, “The first duty of government is to keep Australians safe.”
“Labor’s decision to bring ISIS-linked individuals back here puts that at risk. The Coalition will always put the safety and cohesion of our communities first.”
Opposition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie was equally blunt, saying the women had “betrayed” their country and that most Australians would say “good riddance.”
“I don’t think Australians want people who’ve betrayed their country and potentially pose a security risk coming back,” he said.
“The government needs to come clean and tell the Australian people exactly what’s happening.”
The controversy follows the 2022 return of 13 children and four mothers from Syria, which triggered backlash in western Sydney and forced Labor to shelve further missions until after the federal election.
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