Coalition lashes ‘gold standard’ treatment of ISIS-linked women

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has accused the government of supporting the return of so-called “ISIS brides”, after 19 women and children linked to Islamic State arrived in Melbourne and Sydney overnight without facing immediate charges.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil was unable to say on Wednesday whether Australia was more or less safe following the cohort’s return, as the Coalition lashed the government for offering “gold standard” airport treatment to the returning group.

“The government’s rolled out the welcome mat to people who have turned their backs on our country and our values to support ISIS,” Taylor told reporters. “This is not an act of strength, this is an act of surrender by this weak prime minister and this weak immigration minister. We need a government that gets control of our borders.”

Flights carrying seven women and 12 children arrived on Tuesday evening with groups released from Sydney and Melbourne airports via side entrances. The arrivals came in contrast to the return of a May 7 cohort, some of whom were arrested while others used public exits.

Government sources – who cannot be named because they are not authorised to speak publicly – have told this masthead some women who arrived on Tuesday may be charged in coming days.

The return of the group means that, apart from one woman subject to a temporary exclusion order, all the Australian so-called “ISIS brides” are now out of Syria for the first time since the end of the so-called Islamic State caliphate in March 2019.

Speaking alongside Taylor, Nationals leader Matt Canavan accused the government of “assuaging their friends who want to see these people return to Australia”, as the Coalition continues to argue that Labor has facilitated the cohort’s return.

“Our role here should be to protect this country, to fight against those that are spreading terror and violence. Clearly, here, the government is turning a blind eye to that,” Canavan said.

Liberal frontbencher Phillip Thompson said the government had provided “gold standard” treatment to the group, and demanded the use of temporary exclusion orders to keep further arrivals at bay.

Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill said exclusion orders were not a “magic wand” and accused the opposition of politicising the issue by spreading misinformation.

The government has repeatedly argued it does not support the women’s return and has not provided the group any assistance.

In an at-times terse interview on Nine’s Today show on Thursday morning, O’Neil repeatedly failed to say whether the country was safer following the second cohort’s return. She instead reiterated the government’s faith in national security agencies.

“We actually don’t want these people to return to Australia. These women made horrific decisions to go overseas and join a death cult whose principal aim was to destroy our way of life,” O’Neil said.

“We are lucky to have some of the best national security agencies in the world supporting us here in Australia, and they will be monitoring this situation extremely closely.”

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