Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has attacked a group of mothers linked to Islamic State who are seeking to return to Australian from Syria, saying they made their children the victim of their “evil choices”.
The cohort of four women and nine children, all of whom are Australian citizens, are currently in Damascus and, as revealed by this masthead on Monday, have secured tickets for return flights. Albanese refused on Tuesday to offer additional detail about the group’s return, insisting that intelligence information should remain confidential, and reiterating that his government had offered no support.
“My views have not changed with regard to people who went overseas and chose, chose to support ISIS rather than Australia, when ISIS had an objective of setting up a caliphate to literally attack democracies like Australia,” Albanese told a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra.
“I think these children are victims of their parents’ bad choices, evil choices, to undermine Australia’s national interest.”
This is the second attempt by the group to return to Australia this year after they were turned back in February. They left al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria on Saturday. They had been detained there for seven years following the fall of the Islamic State caliphate.
A source close to the return process, which is not being facilitated by the government, confirmed to this masthead that the women and children had plane tickets to Australia and would be flying out of Damascus in coming days.
The source asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the situation.
Asked whether the cohort had obtained tickets, Albanese said: “Federal authorities – I have every confidence in the work that they do to keep Australia safe, and they continue to monitor these issues. But Australia is providing no support for this cohort.
“It’s probably best that security systems operate securely. Ours does and will continue to do so.”
In 2022, the Albanese government said it was incumbent on Australia to bring the group home to give them a chance at rehabilitation.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Albanese rejected the notion that he had a change of heart regarding the cohort, after he was read comments from 2019 in which he said children involved “have made no choices” regarding their travel to the Middle East.
More to come.
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Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
