Taylor softens ISIS bride rhetoric after frontbencher declares children ‘a risk’
Angus Taylor has softened his rhetoric on the so-called ISIS brides cohort after his home affairs spokesman declared children caught up in the saga “a risk” to national security.
The cohort is made up of 34 women and children linked to ISIS militants who became stuck in Syria after the terror group’s collapse.
They were this week released from al-Roj camp in Syria’s northeast but reportedly forced to return due to poor co-ordination between their relatives and Syrian government.
The Opposition Leader said on Friday it was “tragic that children are involved”.
“It is truly tragic that we’ve seen people take children over to what is … an ideological movement that promotes violence against innocent people,” Mr Taylor told reporters.
“There’s no proposal to separate children from their parents or their mothers in this particular case … but frankly, there’s real questions then about radicalisation and what might have occurred with those children.
“We don’t have the answers to any of those questions.”
Mr Taylor’s comments came after opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathan Duniam said teenagers should be subject to temporary exclusion orders barring them from returning to Australia.
“Anyone being repatriated from this part of the world is indeed a risk when it comes to our security,” Senator Duniam told ABC radio.
“We cannot ignore the risk associated with individuals, whether they be minors or indeed adults, when it comes to repatriating them here.
“And indeed, when it comes to these minors, the temporary exclusion order regime does apply to individuals between the ages of 14 and 17, and some reports suggest that these aren’t just infants, they are indeed inclusive of teenagers who would be more advanced in thinking and beliefs than perhaps a younger child.”
Also speaking to ABC radio a short time later, Labor minister Murray Watt struck a more sympathetic tone when asked about minors in the cohort but maintained the government’s position.
“It’s a distressing situation that they’ve been placed in as a result of very bad decisions by their parents,” he said.
“We, of course, from a government perspective … focus more than anything on the safety of Australians, and that explains the basis of our decisions that we’ve made about this group.
“I do have sympathy for those children, and our government has sympathy for those children.
“But the decision to put the children in these situations was made by their parents.
“That’s something that we can’t change.”
The Albanese government has said it would not facilitate the cohort’s return to Australia beyond what it was legally required to do, such as issue passports.
Beyond that, they would need to find their own way home.
At reporting, it was unclear how many of the women and children had travel documents.
At least one woman has had a temporary exclusion order issued against her.
Appearing on Sky News, Coalition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie said one exclusion order was not enough.
“What about the rest of them?” she said.
“Let’s call these women for what they are – they’re not ISIS brides, they’re female jihadists.
“‘ISIS bride’ suggests that they’re somehow not in control, as Australian citizens, of where they travel, why they took their children to these countries and put them in harm’s way.”
She also claimed Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke “can suspend or refuse to issue passports” under the Australian Passport Act 2005.
But that can only happen if intelligence officials advise it.
