Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
TRANSCRIPT
Sunrise
8 October 2025
Topics: ISIS brides
E&OE
Natalie Barr
Senators Michaelia Cash and Penny Wong have clashed in an estimates hearing over the details behind reports that a group of six wives and children of ISIS fighters have fled Syria and returned to Australia. Take a look.
Senator Cash (Recording)
Minister, with all due respect, I’m merely asking a question.
Penny Wong (recording)
You’re making an assertion in the context of your question, which may or may not be true, just because you say it does not make it true.
Senator Cash (Recording)
What I’m asking merely is, is the Prime Minister aware of a meeting between Minister Burke and Save the Children in relation to the return of the ISIS brides?
Penny Wong (recording)
I’ve already taken that on notice, and I’ve referred you to the appropriate committee.
Natalie Barr
Let’s bring in Housing Minister, Clare O’Neil and Shadow Foreign Minister, Michaelia Cash now. Good morning to both of you. Clare, so why is the government unable to confirm how many women and children fled Syria and returned here? It’s been reported in the media.
Clare O’Neil
Well, I think Senator Wong made it really clear in the estimates hearing yesterday that no repatriation assistance has been provided to this group of people. And it’s interesting that Michaelia is making a political issue of this, because she was a part of a Cabinet and a part of a government in 2019 that actually went into Syria and took a group of people back to Australia, which is something that she, at the time, reported. This is quite different to that situation. The government has not supported this group of people back into Australia, and they’ve been dealt with through the usual way that these matters are dealt with in the same way that Michaelia’s government did when they were in office.
Natalie Barr
Okay, so what’s the problem here, Michaelia?
Senator Cash
Well, let’s be clear. Mr. Albanese told the Australian people that the ISIS brides were not returning to Australia, and we now know that they have. And instead of providing answers in estimates yesterday, the government provided silence. Now they’re treating the Australian people like fools. These are women who left Australia to join what is regarded as probably one of the most disgraceful and barbaric terrorist organisations that murdered, that raped, and that killed women, men and children, and the government won’t even provide Australians with the most basic of answers. Perhaps Clare could tell us today. Clare, how many ISIS brides are back in Australia? What assessments did your government do before they arrived back in Australia? What monitoring conditions are in place in relation to them? But more than that, what is your government doing to keep Australians safe? Australians want leadership, not excuses. They want answers, not silence, and everybody should be asking themselves this morning, Nat, what is the Albanese government hiding?
Natalie Barr
Well, hang on, if they’re Australian citizens, because they left here, Clare, I guess they can come back any time, can they?
Clare O’Neil
Well, I think what Michaelia has just put forward there just doesn’t make any sense. I mean, these matters are being dealt with in the same way that they were dealt with under the Morrison government, where Michaelia was part of a cabinet that actually went to Syria and picked up a group of people and brought them back to Australia, which is very different from what’s happened here. Here we have a group of people who were not offered any repatriation assistance by our government. So as usual, we’re seeing Michaelia try to make a political issue out of out of something that doesn’t really make sense. I mean, why was Michaelia so in favour of it in 2019 but in 2025, she’s got all these issues and questions. The truth is, in Australia, we are very lucky to be advised by some of the finest national security advisors in the world. Michaelia’s government, no doubt, took their advice as a government. We also take their advice.
Natalie Barr
So Clare, you’re confirming that several of these ISIS brides have come back into the country, but they’re Australian citizens, so the Australian Government hasn’t helped them. Is that right?
Clare O’Neil
I’m not confirming anything that isn’t already on the public record. I’m just making this simple point that Michaelia had a view about this in 2019 which was that the right thing to do was to take a group of people back here, and she seems to have changed her tune.
Natalie Barr
And we know in 2019, the Morrison government brought back eight children. But just clearing up, is it true that several ISIS brides have just come back into the country, and they are Australian citizens, but the Albanese government hasn’t helped them?
Clare O’Neil
Nat, I’m not going to add any detail to what the Home Affairs Minister and the Foreign Minister have talked about. What I can tell you is that no repatriation assistance has been provided.
Natalie Barr
So you haven’t assisted them, but they’ve come back.
Clare O’Neil
No repatriation assistance has been provided.
Natalie Barr
Okay, why can’t we just say they’ve come back?
Senator Cash
What is the issue, Clare, with saying the ISIS brides have returned? The children were not born in Australia. They were born overseas. They did not have any documents. They did not have a passport or a birth certificate. The Australian government had to facilitate the giving of those documents to the children in order for them to come into Australia. What’s wrong Clare, with just saying to the Australian people, Mr. Albanese told Australians the ISIS brides weren’t coming back. That was actually wrong. They are back. This is how many are here. This is where they are, and this is what the Albanese government is doing to protect the Australian people. I’m just at a loss to understand why basic questions can’t be answered.
Natalie Barr
Things change. Maybe he thought they weren’t coming back, and now they’re coming back. But hang on, Clare, if there are children involved and they were born overseas, maybe they didn’t have paperwork. Are you sure the government didn’t need to assist them?
Clare O’Neil
Well, Nat, again, the government hasn’t provided any repatriation assistance to this group.
Natalie Barr
So how did the kids get back here?
Clare O’Neil
I’ll let the Foreign Minister and the Home Affairs Minister speak to any further details about this. What I can tell you is the Prime Minister has been absolutely clear, the Foreign Minister has been absolutely clear, that we did not provide repatriation assistance. And I’d say again to Michaelia, she was a part of a government that actually went into Syria.
Natalie Barr
Yeah we know that, and that was six years ago.
Clare O’Neil
[inaudible] with the information in the same way as Michaelia did when she was a minister under the former government. This is a long running issue for the country. We abide by national security advice… [inaudible]
Natalie Barr
Yes, look, I think we’ve, I think there is a fundamental difference. Look, that’s on the record what your government did, and everyone knows that, but we will ask – and there may be children here, and it’s just we’re going to ask the Foreign Minister’s office, because it does, there does seem to be some confusion. But thank you very much for joining us today here.
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