Transcript | Doorstop at Australian Parliament House | 09 October 2025

Thursday, 09 October 2025

Topics: Did the government secretly assist in the return of ISIS brides to Australia?

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………

SENATOR JAMES PATERSON: Good morning, it should not have taken two days, hours, and hours, and hours, of questioning in Senate estimates to learn some basic facts about the return of these two ISIS brides and their four children to Australia. But now, after several days, we finally know some things about this cohort. We know they returned to Australia on the 26th of September. We know they were assisted to do so by the Department of Home Affairs, which granted two of them citizenship by descent while overseas.

We know they were probably granted passports while overseas, although we look forward to learning more about that. We know that the government has known about this for months. We know that they failed to apply for a temporary exclusion order to keep these people offshore. We know they failed to apply for a control order to control these people in this country. But there are so many questions that remain unanswered. We don't know why this government is refusing to say where these people are. They're refusing to say, are they in Victoria? Are that in New South Wales? Are they in any other state or territory?

We don't know where they live, how they are being monitored, or whether or not they will be charged with counter-terrorism offences for their time overseas. We do know, though, that Minister Tony Burke met twice with the charity advocating for the return of these people, Save the Children, once in October last year, and again in June this year. We don't know exactly what was discussed at that meeting, because the Department of Home Affairs has refused to release the information and the notes from those meetings.

So I think the Minister of Home Affairs, Tony Burke, must stand up today and explain what was said in those meetings. Did he give Save the Children a wink and a nudge, that if they brought these people back on their own, not only would the Albanese government not stand in their way, they would actively facilitate their return to allow them to come to Australia? We also need to know whether or not this government is going to ensure these people are charged with potential terrorism offences that they committed while they were overseas.

Thank you.

ENDS