David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government's position on this issue is clear and longstanding. We are not providing assistance and we are not repatriating individuals from Syria. National security is not political theatre. We follow the advice of our security agencies and we follow the law. That is how we keep Australians safe. That is responsible government. If any of these individuals find their own way to return to Australia, our agencies are prepared and will be able to act in the interests of community safety. Our agencies have been monitoring these individuals for some time, and we have confidence in our security agencies. Our law enforcement and national security agencies are following the same approach they have followed for over a decade—the same approach the former government followed. People in this cohort need to know that, if they have committed a crime and they return to Australia, they'll be met with the full force of the law.

A number of male foreign fighters came back to Australia when the Liberal Party were last in government. The coalition built the legal framework we are now operating under and at the time acknowledged it goes as far as it constitutionally can. Maybe that's why we haven't seen anything of substance from them on their proposals, particularly today. As Minister Burke has said, one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies. If our national security agencies provide advice that additional people in the cohort meet the threshold and should also be issued temporary exclusion orders, then of course the government would act on that, just as the government would act on any advice from national security agencies that a passport should be refused or cancelled. As always, the Albanese government will act on the advice of our security agencies to ensure the safety of Australians.

We know the safety situation in Syria remains extremely dangerous. DFAT warns of the continuing threat of armed conflict, air strikes, terrorism, arbitrary detention and kidnapping. Our travel advice to Australians remains the same today as it was in 2011: do not travel to Syria. That's advice that many of the individuals in this cohort unfortunately chose to ignore when they travelled to Syria. Of course, we have great sympathy for the children who are in this situation through no fault of their own. The decision made by their parents to go and support ISIS has had dreadful consequences for these children. The safety of Australians and the protection of Australia's national interests remain the Albanese government's overriding priority.

The bill that the opposition put forward today would potentially criminalise a whole bunch of people that nobody in their right mind would think should fall foul of criminal law. It wouldn't criminalise the fighters who came in under their watch, under the Abbott government, under the Turnbull government and then under the Morrison government. This bill would not apply to the cohort currently in Syria. But it would criminalise the pilots of the commercial plane that flew them back, it would criminalise the baggage handlers and it would criminalise our allies and any aid workers trying to get people out of the camps. This is lazy, shoddy legislation that doesn't do anything to stop the current cohort of people in Syria but that does criminalise other people who nobody thinks should be criminalised. It's theatre, and this government doesn't engage in theatre.

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