Push to punish those who help ‘IS brides’ dismissed
The opposition’s push to punish those helping Islamic State-linked families return home from Syria seeks to criminalize the work of aid organisations, a senior government minister said.
The coalition introduced a proposal on Sunday that would make it a criminal offense to facilitate the re-entry of people with links to ISIS into Australia.
The opposition criticized Labor for its indifference over the possible return of a group of 34 wives and children of former ISIS fighters who have been held in a camp in Syria since the militant group’s defeat.
One member of the group was given a two-year temporary restraining order preventing him from returning, while other members of the so-called “ISIS bride” group were given Australian passports because they are citizens.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the opposition’s policy was not serious, describing it as a “headline grab” that could catch out aid workers.
“All we see are newspaper articles about (the policy),” he told ABC TV on Monday.
“There is no serious substance to what appears to be some plans to criminalize the work of charities such as Save the Children.
“Instead, we focused on enforcing the strict letter of the law.”
The opposition’s proposal will be valid only if the government gives “explicit permission” for return.
The federal government has rejected any effort to repatriate the group.
Opposition foreign spokesman Ted O’Brien said non-governmental organizations could be seized under the proposed laws and those helping children would not be automatically exempt.
Mr O’Brien told ABC Radio: “To the extent that they are assisting foreign fighters, families or terrorist sympathisers, yes it would be so.”
“No, not as long as they are providing humanitarian services.”
He added that the self-managed return of women and children is a gap that must be closed.
“Under this arrangement, non-government third parties are allowed to organize terrorists and their affiliates to enter Australia, and they can do this on their own without government oversight,” Mr O’Brien said.
“So this proposed legislation closes that loophole, puts the onus back on the government to lie and effectively disallows the government from outsourcing the repatriation of terrorist sympathizers to Australia.”
Deputy Foreign Secretary Matt Thistlethwaite said Labor was “toughening” laws on allowing ISIS fighters and their associates to enter Australia.
“Any person advised by security and intelligence agencies to be involved in potential terrorist activity will be excluded,” he told Sky News.
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathon Duniam said the conditions imposed on former citizens with links to ISIS would not be sufficient for the current group.
In 2022, four women and 11 children were repatriated to Australia, while in 2019, eight orphaned children were repatriated from Syria under the then coalition government.
“The best we had for those who had faced prosecution and repatriation in the past was a good behavior agreement for 25 months,” Senator Duniam said on Sunday.
“These are people who went to Syria to support a death cult.”
The coalition has called for laws to be strengthened to deny the group access to Australian passports.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said any legislation would need to be drawn up in consultation with intelligence and security agencies and that protective measures would be put in place if the 34 women and children re-entered Australia.
“This is a group that has been monitored by our agencies for years,” he told ABC TV.
“It is claimed that if they commit a crime, they will be subject to full sanctions before the law.”
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