Mr Speaker, standing and sessional orders today must be suspended to allow me to introduce a Bill today without delay because this issue is urgent and must be resolved, today.
Mr Speaker:
We must be clear-eyed about threats to our nation.
Consider what we’ve seen in recent years.
The day after Hamas gleefully tortured, raped, mutilated, and murdered 1,200 civilians in Israel, a rally was held at Lakemba in Sydney.
There, a crowd cheered a radical Islamic cleric and he described the terrorist attack on Israel as “a day of pride” and “a day of victory.”
The following night, a seething mob gathered on the steps of Sydney Opera House.
They chanted “Where’s the Jews” and “F*** the Jews.”
They sought to strike fear into our Jewish community.
It was one of the most odious events in our nation’s history.
An event where we didn’t recognise our own country.
But an event where did we realise that something sinister had taken root in Australia.
In the aftermath of that sordid evening, there was an opportunity.
An opportunity for strong political leadership grounded in moral clarity.
An opportunity to stop the spread of antisemitism.
An opportunity to come down hard on extremism.
Instead, there was weak political leadership engulfed in a moral fog.
What followed was the tolerance of even more intolerable antisemitic incidents:
Marches where genocidal slogans were chanted.
Encampments on university campuses.
Homes, cars, and memorials graffitied and vandalised.
Extremist preachers spreading hate with impunity.
Synagogues firebombed.
And then came the bloodshed on Bondi Beach.
Fifteen innocent people gunned down by radical Islamists.
The worst terrorist attack on our soil in our history.
I say again: we must be clear eyed about the threats to our nation.
Our borders have been opened to people who hate our way of life.
People who don’t want to change for Australia – but who want Australia to change for them.
Of course, those who seek to change Australia exist on a spectrum.
There are some who would use violence and terrorism – as we saw on Bondi Beach.
There are those who seek to incite violence – as we’ve seen with radical Islamist clerics.
There are those who seek to import foreign hatreds – as we’ve seen in rallies where protesters chant “globalise the intifada.”
And there are those who, while rejecting violence, still reject Australian values.
People who don’t believe in equal rights for men and women.
People who don’t believe in the rule of law and want to establish parallel legal systems.
People who don’t believe in freedom of speech, association, and religion.
We must be clear: Islamic extremism has no place in this country.
Nor do other extremist ideologies that are weaponised for harm.
The vast majority of Muslims in this country – be they migrants, conferred citizens, or Australian born – embrace our values and way of life.
They are not peddlers of political Islam.
And that’s all the more reason why our nation must confront radical Islamism and political Islam which are threats to us all.
Threats both imported and homegrown.
Threats that will be amplified with the repatriation of the 34-strong ISIS bride cohort.
Mr Speaker:
Let’s be clear about these ISIS sympathisers or the ISIS brides – a label which conceals all manner of sins.
These people chose to abandon Australia.
They chose to travel to terrorist hot spots.
They chose to support one of the world’s most evil and barbaric death cults.
They chose to steep their children in a monstrous ideology.
They don’t deserve compassion – they deserve condemnation.
And they pose an unacceptable risk to Australia because of their terrorist sympathies.
Their children, likewise, pose a risk to Australia because of the hate which has undoubtedly filled their minds.
If the 34-strong cohort of ISIS sympathisers are allowed into Australia, they would import hate and be incubators of hate.
Their repatriation fails the values test, fails the security test, fails the fairness test, and fails the pub test.
And yet, repatriation appears to be proceeding.
The government has tried to shroud this process in secrecy.
But we know a few things.
We know DNA testing has been conducted.
We know passports have been granted and citizenship applications processed.
We know that just one Temporary Exclusion Order has been issued – raising more questions than answers.
The Home Affairs Minister has the power to issue more.
He does not need to hide behind advice.
He has chosen not to.
I’ll repeat that. He has chosen not to.
And this is a crucial part of the way this legislation is put together. He can issue temporary exclusion orders, independent of intelligence advice.
We know the Home Affairs Minister has discussed repatriation with Save the Children – and with his mate and political-backer, Dr Jamal Rifi.
And we know the Premiers of Victoria and New South Wales have been engaging with the Commonwealth for months on return and reintegration issues.
The Albanese Government is not being upfront with Australians when it pretends to be at arm’s length from these repatriations.
But what is absolutely clear is this, Mr Speaker:
Under Labor, non-government third parties have been empowered to facilitate the re-entry of terrorist sympathisers.
In other words, the government is outsourcing decisions that affect the security of all Australians.
That loophole must be closed.
And the Coalition seeks to close this loophole with the Criminal Code Amendment (Keeping Australia Safe) Bill 2026.
Mr Speaker:
The proposed legislation that we bring before the Parliament today has three clear objectives.
First, it will end the freelancing of non-government third parties who seek to bring dangerous individuals into Australia.
The Bill amends the Criminal Code Act 1995 and creates a new offence.
It would make it a crime to assist the entry into Australia of an individual:
· who has been in a terrorist hotspot;
· who has links to a terrorist organisation; or
· who has committed terror-related offences.
They are crucial pre conditions.
In this, the Bill seeks to achieve a second objective which is restoring ministerial accountability.
Through our proposed legislation, any non-government third party that seeks to provide repatriation assistance must obtain written prior permission. Must obtain written prior permission.
And both the Home Affairs Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister must approve any non-government third party repatriation assistance for individuals affiliated with a terrorist organisation.
In other words, they must be accountable for the decision. And that’s how ministerial accountability should work.
Such authorisations will ensure that ministers are responsible for significant national security decisions.
We want the government to take back control over who comes into our country – instead of outsourcing control to third parties and turning a blind eye.
The third objective is technical.
Under section 119.2 of the existing Criminal Code, it’s a criminal offence to enter- or remain in- a declared terrorist area.
This Bill seeks to extend the sunset date of this provision from 7 September 2027 through to 7 September 2030.
Mr Speaker:
Australians have had a gutful.
They can see the country they love changing for the worse.
The Coalition’s goal is clear:
We want to shut the door on returning ISIS sympathisers. Shut the door on returning ISIS sympathisers.
We want to shut the door on Islamic extremism.
We want to shut the door on those who don’t subscribe to Australian values and our core beliefs.
The Bill that the Coalition has brought before the Parliament is a test for the Prime Minister.
Will he keep the door shut to protect our way of life?
Will he help shut the door to protect our way of life?
Or will he keep the door wide open because he cares so little for our way of life?
