Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

ISIS and organisations like it are manifestations of evil in our world, and it is hard to capture in words the brutality of their violence and the grotesque ideology that underpins it. The victims of their violence come from all different creeds, but what they reflect in common is the savagery of these organisations. That's why Australia and our allies and friends around the world have worked and continue to work to destroy ISIS and organisations like it and to fight the scourge of terrorism where it rears its head.

I think Australians are rightly horrified by the idea that Australian citizens would travel overseas to join and fight with ISIS or to support those who have travelled to join and fight with ISIS. The women who've travelled with their husbands to join and fight with ISIS should be criticised—as they have been—and they should be punished according to law. But those words are important, because the rule of law is one of the assumptions upon which Australia's constitutional system is built. Former chief justice of Australia Murray Gleeson said this of the rule of law:

The importance of the rule of law lies partly in the power it denies to people and to governments, and in the discipline to which it subjects all authority. That denial, and that discipline, are conditions of the exercise of power, which in a democracy, comes from the community which all government serves.

That discipline and commitment to the rule of law are reflected in the Australian government's position. The Australian government has been clear it will not repatriate these individuals from Syria and that any Australian returning to Australia who has breached Australian law will be investigated and subject to the full force of that law and any punishments.

Importantly, we are committed as a priority to community safety. So, if any of this cohort find their way to return to Australia, Australia's security agencies are prepared and will be able to act to ensure community safety. I take Senator McLachlan's point that this must occur on an individual basis, and that is what the law requires. But our security agencies have been monitoring these individuals for some time, and our security agencies have the skills and experience needed to keep our nation safe. Our law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies and national security agencies are following the same approach they have for over a decade, the same approach the former government enforced when male foreign fighters themselves came back to Australia, and the same approach will be taken to their spouses. The minister addressed this in her answer today in that Australian citizens are entitled to apply for and, if they meet eligibility requirements, be issued an Australian passport, but a passport can be refused or cancelled on security grounds if a competent authority, such as an agency like ASIO, requests it. That's the key point: Australia's community safety comes first, and that's the basis on which these cases will be treated.

As the Prime Minister has observed, we do also have to have compassion for the children involved. Taking children into a war zone like this is a form of child abuse. It's horrific. But the others who've chosen to travel to that area in the circumstances in which they travelled have made decisions in life and ought to face those consequences. I also quote Minister Butler in relation to this issue:

We are not going to provide taxpayer resources to help these women come back to Australia. They took the decision, along with their husbands, their partners at the time, to leave this country and to travel to Syria and Iraq and support one of the most awful death cults we've seen in decades.

That said, the Australian government will act according to law. We will act with determination and resolve to ensure that the Australian community remains safe, and, with the laws that are currently in place, the government are following through on that commitment.

We've already heard from the minister today that a temporary exclusion order can be issued if there are reasonable grounds to suspect it will assist in security or in preventing a terrorist attack, and one has been issued in relation to this. If there are individuals who are able to return, then they will be investigated. If they've broken the law, they'll be punished. If it's necessary to issue an order to ensure community safety, that will be done as well. The safety of Australians and the protection of Australia's national interest remain the overriding priority of this government in relation to this issue and all others.