Angus Taylor has lashed the Albanese government for its “secrecy” over the cohort of ISIS-linked families seeking to return to Australia and insisted there was “no evidence” the children among them had not been radicalised.
SKYNEWS.COM.AU
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has lashed the Albanese government for its “secrecy” over the cohort of ISIS-linked families seeking to return to Australia and insisted there was “no evidence” the children among them had not been radicalised.
The group had initially attempted to leave Syria’s Roj Camp last Monday, but were forced to return after failing to receive permission to travel to Damascus and subsequently postponed their trip.
Roj Camp is one of several housing thousands of individuals with links to ISIS in northern Syria, another, Al-Hawl, was recently cleared and closed following the escape of hundreds of residents.
Footage of the closure broadcast by NBC showed showing children hurling stones and threating violence against journalist Richard Engel, with some making gestures in support of ISIS.
Reacting to the scenes, Mr Taylor claimed children among the cohort seeking to enter Australia could also be radicalised, a prospect he said “absolutely” worried him.
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“The next piece of the tragedy is that there’s a real risk that many of them have been radicalised,” he told Sky News host Sharri Markson.
“We know that Islamist extremism is being pushed by organisations like IS. We saw it. We saw, of course, that radicalisation in Gaza in graphic terms a number of years ago. We saw that kind of radicalisation in north Bondi.
“It’s something we should all be deeply concerned about.”
Mr Taylor argued if Australia was to protect its way of life, “we must shut the door on these people” to ensure violence and extremism was not brought into the country.
“These children have been either dragged over to terrorist zones or born in those zones because their parents have chosen to align with ISIS,” he said.
“There’s no proposal, by the way, to separate the children from their mothers, but bringing these people to Australia will be bringing back people with links to ISIS.
“That is not acceptable.”
The Opposition Leader said the Coalition’s proposed laws to prevent the repatriation of those linked to terrorist organisations would test Labor, which he claimed had “done almost everything” to make it possible for ISIS brides to return.
Under the laws, anyone caught “facilitating the return” of those linked to terrorism would face up to ten years’ imprisonment.
The penalty would apply to anyone helping individuals with links to terror groups to cross borders, obtain passports, arrange flights, or otherwise aid their return to Australia.
A private citizen, Jamal Rifi, who supported Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s election campaign, has reportedly been helping ISIS brides in Syria.
“Now we know close affiliates of Tony Burke have been doing exactly that, assisting the repatriation of those linked to terrorist organisations,” Mr Taylor said.
“We think that this is a threat to Australians… we’re not going to stand by and watch this happening without providing an alternative.
“Here is a piece of legislation that Labor can support to stop the assistance of these people to come back to the country.”
Mr Taylor said the Coalition’s proposed law has a specific purpose, while the Albanese government “says one thing and does another”.
“Labor has done almost everything except drive them to the airport… We know they’ve been issuing passports. We know they have only issued a single temporary exclusion order which can keep these people out,” he said.
“We know that they’ve been taking DNA tests which helps them come back to the country. So this is a government that says one thing and does another.
“It shrouds in secrecy the reality, which is they have been allowing the assistance of these people.”
The Albanese government was “not serious” about protecting Australians, the Opposition Leader added, claiming preparations for the return of ISIS brides had been going on behind the scenes for months.
“There have been secret meetings that Tony Burke has attended talking about bringing them back and we also know preparations have been underway for the return for some time,” he said.
“So frankly, this is a government that’s not serious about protecting our way of life.”
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