Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister, there are reports that at least 34 passports have recently been issued under this government to facilitate the return of individuals who left Australia to join ISIS. Can the PM confirm that none of his ministers, nor any member of staff, made representations to any relevant departments or agencies to support or expedite the issuing of Australian passports to ISIS sympathisers in Syria?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll start by saying:

… they're Australian citizens, they now have an entitlement; a right to come back to our country.

…   …   …

… there's no silver bullet.

Those are not my words. They're the words of that soft person, Peter Dutton. He used to sit on that side of the chamber.

We'll work with those people, given that they're Australian citizens and they have right to come back …

…   …   …

… if people are Australian citizens, they have a right to return and I need to deal with the realities of the way in which our laws and constitution work …

Further:

… there's good reason as to why we don't want media attention to some individual cases. I don't want cameras parked out the front of schools, or people being scrutinised as they're going into a mosque.

Again, guess who? It was Peter Dutton.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting immediately. The Manager of Opposition Business is entitled to raise his point of order, and he will do so in silence.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It goes to section 104 on relevance. It might be the Prime Minister's birthday today, but that doesn't mean he should get leeway not to answer a direct question about whether any of his ministers made directions to have these passports issued.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The manager is correct; the Prime Minister was asked a question about his government and any ministers involved with these decisions. He has had a minute explaining the background to the question, and I'll ask him now to return to the question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I'm doing is explaining the law as provided by those opposite. They're the laws under which this government is operating, which those opposite put in place when they were in government. I'm talking about the law. We don't have to just include Peter Dutton, because people come and go from the frontbench over there. One of them who's back is the member for Berowra. This is what he had to say:

Although many of these people are of counterterrorism interest, under article 12.4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it is their right, as Australian citizens, to return to Australia.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The manager on a further point of order?

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You asked that the Prime Minister bring himself to be directly relevant to the question. The question was directly relevant as to ministerial involvement, and he is not coming back to that part of the question.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister needs to be directly relevant to the question. If he has some quotes—I'm not sure if he's still reading from the same quote. He's entitled to answer the question as long as he's being directly relevant. He can't talk about any other topics. I'm going to listen carefully. He's had some time now, and he was asked a specific question regarding his government's involvement, but he's answering the question. I can't get a yes or no answer, as much as you would like that, but that's not allowed under the standing orders. I don't have that direction.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I'm doing is explaining what they know to be the case, which is that we're operating under the law. Indeed, the member for Berowra went on to say:

The proposed TEO scheme doesn't arbitrarily deprive these people of the right to abode. Instead, it necessarily gives the government an effective means to monitor and regulate the return of these fighters …

We are not repatriating these people. We have made it clear. A non-government organisation took us to court demanding that we do that. We opposed that court action. We won the court decision, and those opposite know that this is the case. The hypocrisy on this is extraordinary, given that 40 people came home on their watch, including not just partners or relatives but ISIS fighters.