Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday, I joined the Leader of the Opposition, Angus Taylor; the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Senator Hume; and my colleague Senator Sharma for a meeting with the Assyrian community in south-western Sydney. The Assyrian community in Australia is a vibrant and resilient community that enriches the multicultural tapestry of our country. They have come here to pursue a better life for themselves and their families, working hard and embracing Australia. But, critically, they have come here to live a safe life, free from the persecution that they'd fled, and, in recent years, that persecution has come, most significantly, at the hands of the so-called Islamic State. We heard harrowing accounts from men, women and children of torture, violence, discrimination, persecution, kidnapping and forced faith conversion of Christians to extremist Islam—experiences that no person should have to endure, yet far too many have. I thank the community for their courage in sharing their stories with us, and I thank them for their contributions to Australia.

But what was clear was the widespread fear concerning the potential return of the ISIS brides to Australia caused by this government's disregard for that public concern and for transparency. The first task of any government is to keep Australians safe and to protect our way of life. This government needs to come clean with Australians: Are any of these ISIS-linked individuals coming back? When did the government know there were plans for their return? And what conversations did this government have to facilitate the same? We need answers, not the dodging of the past week that we have seen from the Prime Minister. We must take action and refuse to let people come here who abandon Australia to support extremist Islamic terror overseas.