Pauline Hanson has demanded that a group of Australian women linked to Islamic State, along with their children, be barred from returning to Australia as they prepare to leave Syria. The group includes four women and nine children, all Australian citizens, who departed a detention camp on Friday. They have secured Australian passports and airline tickets to leave Syria, but are expected to face intensive security checks in Damascus that could take several days.
Hanson's Strong Stance
Senator Hanson labelled the women 'terrorists' and said they should never be allowed back into the country. 'They are terrorists who should not be permitted to come to Australia,' she said. Her comments came after Penny Wong confirmed on Monday that any returnees could be arrested and jailed for travelling to a declared conflict zone.
Government Position
The Australian government has previously stated it was legally required to issue passports to the group, but warned they would face 'the full force of the law' if evidence of criminal conduct emerged. Wong reinforced that position during a press conference in Adelaide, making clear the government was not facilitating their return. 'These are Australian citizens and the government is not assisting them to return,' she said. 'If they do, they will face the full force of the law.'
Hanson's Previous Claims
Senator Hanson has repeatedly argued the women should be left in Syria. In March, she claimed correctional officers had told her that a 50-bed wing at Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre was being prepared to house returning Australian women linked to ISIS. That claim was later rejected by Anoulack Chanthivong, who said the upgrade works were part of broader, budget-funded security enhancements. Despite the denial, Hanson accused Labor governments of concealing the truth from Australians.
'Labor can't be trusted to be honest with the Australian people. They can't be trusted to keep the community safe from radical Islamic terror. They can't be trusted to keep vicious antisemitic extremism in check,' she said at the time. 'These women must be left in Syria. They freely chose to break our laws and travel to the Middle East and join in the depraved barbarity that was the hallmark of the so-called Islamic State 'caliphate'. Australians don't want them back.'
Paterson's Criticism
James Paterson has rejected the government's claim it is not assisting the group, pointing out it has issued them with Australian passports. Speaking to Sky News Australia on Monday, Senator Paterson said the Albanese Government was actively facilitating the group's return despite having the legal power to prevent it.
'My view is that if you leave a prosperous, safe and harmonious liberal democracy to join an Islamist death cult and a listed terrorist organisation, you have effectively repudiated your loyalty to Australia,' he said. 'You do not deserve the assistance of the Australian government with a passport or any other document to re-enter the country in the future.'
Senator Paterson said the government had clear authority under the Passports Act to cancel or refuse travel documents but had chosen not to use it. 'We know that the Albanese government has provided travel documents and passports to these people, even though there is a power under the Passports Act to cancel or refuse those passports,' he said. 'Under the former Coalition government, foreign ministers routinely refused and cancelled passports for ISIS fighters or suspected ISIS fighters, whether they were trying to leave Australia to join ISIS or attempting to return after having joined.'
Senator Paterson also pointed to the availability of temporary exclusion orders, which allow authorities to lawfully keep individuals offshore while terrorism investigations are conducted. 'Only one of those orders has been used by the Albanese government, and as far as we know, none of the passports have been refused or cancelled.' He said the government now needed to explain its actions. 'They have to explain why they are seeking to facilitate these people returning to our country,' Senator Paterson said.
