Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the question: what is the government hiding? Labor claims it does not want ISIS sympathisers and their children to return to Australia, yet considerable assistance has clearly been given, including the issuing of passports. We are told the government is not assisting, yet federal and state agencies have reportedly been meeting for months to manage their return. These people chose to enter and remain in ISIS declared areas. Islamic State is not a social movement; it was a brutal terrorist regime. Security experts warn that radicalisation does not simply disappear. ASIO already has 18,000 individuals on its watchlist, and every additional high-risk returnee increases the pressure on already stretched agencies. Labor says it is powerless, yet the Australian Passports Act allows refusal on security grounds. Temporary exclusion orders also exist for precisely these circumstances.

If Labor truly opposed these returns, it could use existing powers robustly and work with the coalition to strengthen the laws if necessary. Instead, we see secrecy, officials excluded from meetings and third parties organising returns. Australians deserve clarity not contradictions. Labor needs to answer the following questions: When was this self-managed returns policy adopted? Was it approved by the National Security Committee or cabinet? Were ASIO's full powers explored? Were temporary exclusion orders considered for the entire cohort?