Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

National security is the first duty of government, and this Albanese Labor administration is failing the most basic test. The Prime Minister tells Australians, 'These ISIS brides aren't welcome,' yet their own ministers are quietly shuffling them in the back door. While the Home Affairs minister says that his hands are tied, the Foreign minister is busy issuing passports to bring them in. Wow! These women didn't just join a book club; they chose to align themselves with a most brutal, terrorist regime. Radicalisation doesn't just vanish, and every high-risk returnee exerts extra pressure on our already stretched security agencies.

Labor's self-managed returns policy is a reckless loophole. It effectively outsources our own national security to NGOs, allowing individuals linked to terror back into our suburbs without direct ministerial oversight. This is why the coalition has introduced the 'keeping Australia safe' bill. Our bill restores accountability. Assisting the return of anyone linked to a terrorist organisation will become a criminal offence, punishable by 10 years in jail. If ministers want these returns, they must be prepared to sign their name to them. It's time for Labor to front up to the public, stop the secrecy and put the safety of Australians first.