Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
4BC Drive with Gary Hardgrave
18 February 2026
Topics: ISIS brides, temporary exclusion orders, Australian freedoms
E&OE
Gary Hardgrave
I’ve already mentioned the reshuffle in the Coalition’s front bench lineup. West Australian, Senator, Leader of the Liberals in the Senate, Michaelia Cash has been handed, I think, enormous responsibilities, the role of Shadow Attorney General. She’s used to this role, done this before, and I know that she’ll handle all those heated debates. They’re going to happen in the Legal and Security space, and this big issue about the ISIS brides will get her off and running. I’m delighted to say Michaelia Cash. You’re always a favourite on this program, Senator. So welcome back.
Senator Cash
Thank you.
Gary Hardgrave
Shadow Attorney General, you’re going to have carriage of all of this. I think there’s some real security risks around these ISIS brides. I don’t care what the Prime Minister says. And Michaelia, I’m going to say to you bluntly, as a former minister for citizenship, went through all this like, 20 something years ago, in the Howard years, I think these people qualify for losing their Australian citizenship. I don’t think they should be made easy. It should not be made easy for them to come in.
Senator Cash
Mate let’s be very clear here, Mr. Albanese is once again failing Australians. Let’s call this for what it is. These are individuals who chose to leave the great country of Australia and align themselves with Islamic State. Let’s not forget who Islamic State are, a listed terrorist organization responsible for genocide, mass murder, sexual slavery. These weren’t tourists. They weren’t confused travellers. They didn’t just end up there Gary. They made a deliberate decision to live under a terrorist regime that stands for the exact opposite of Australian values. And quite frankly, the Prime Minister is showing that he just doesn’t care about protecting Australia and keeping us safe. National security isn’t about clever phrasing, as you know, this is about managing risk. Australians deserve straight answers, not weasel words, as the Prime Minister is currently giving us.
Gary Hardgrave
So is the current legal framework strong enough to actually manage these individuals if they actually did return here? I’m not confident.
Senator Cash
It’s a very good question. And now that I’ve returned to the Attorney General’s portfolio, Angus Taylor has given me a very clear but simple mission: protect those freedoms that make Australia the greatest country on Earth, freedom of speech, equality before the law, the right to live safely and to raise your family without intimidation or violence. Gary, as you know, as a former minister, those freedoms don’t protect themselves. They are protected by strong laws. But this is the key to what you said, properly enforced. We actually have strong laws in this country, but we have a lazy Labor government that is prepared to make excuses for people who left our great country and sided with terrorists. Laws only work if they are enforced. I will be all over this government, along with Jonathan Duniam to ensure that, in the first instance, if nothing else, they issue temporary exclusion orders to prevent the return, not of one of them, but of all of them.
Gary Hardgrave
They made a choice and correct me if I’m wrong, but my recall is they were warned don’t do this.
Senator Cash
Absolutely. If you recall, the government at the time made it very, very clear, if you leave Australia to go and join the ISIS caliphate, the hater, the haters of the freedoms that we have here in this country, you don’t come back that easily. These women and children have now been gone for a very, very long time. They have lived with the caliphate. Quite frankly, for individuals who abandon Australia to live inside this caliphate, who are married to ISIS fighters and who have spent years in camps, housing ISIS families – if this is a government that says we can’t issue temporary exclusion orders to keep them out, well then, quite frankly, what the hell are you doing?
Gary Hardgrave
Yeah, of course, I know what will happen. They’ll try and come up with a new law, and you may well as well. And then somebody will take it off to court, the High Court or whatever, and then they’ll amend the law. You know, this is going to end up in a whole litigious mess, and yet, all we’re trying to do is keep Australians safe.
Senator Cash
It’s a very basic principle. Gary. I mean, can you believe that you and I are even having this conversation? You see the pictures on the TV, women completely covered in burqas, living in a camp. They left our great country, they went to be with terrorists whose sole mission is to destroy the freedoms that we have. And Mr. Albanese now stands in front of a microphone and doesn’t actually stand up for Australia. Doesn’t stand up for our values. Gives us a whole lot of weasel words, and now we’ve got Burke saying, Oh, but you know, guess what? We’re going to issue a temporary exclusion order against one of them. Well, quite frankly, here’s my message to minister Burke. These ISIS brides all travelled to the same declared area for the same reason of supporting the same listed terrorist organization. How Gary can only one member of this group be deemed a risk and the rest of them somehow ok? That is a load of crap. And quite frankly, this government is finally being exposed for the weak people they are when it comes to protecting our country.
Gary Hardgrave
I’ve heard Michaelia Cash, it said that these women are disillusioned, abused, they’ve been mistreated, and all of that is awful. I mean, I can’t countenance any of that. But the last thing I want, to your point, and I made this point in an editorial about an hour ago, is we don’t need to see – can I put it this way – more burqas in the burbs. Seriously, there are people who come here to this country. They fit in, they contribute. And then there are those who don’t. They want to change our country. These people are on the you can wait till we get the rest of the country sorted out with I reckon.
Senator Cash
Let’s be very clear. And this is what I love about what Angus Taylor said in his first press conference, if someone wants to import hatred or violence to Australia, the door must be shut. Angus has given his new shadow cabinet, in fact, his entire team, a clear mission, restore Australia’s standard of living – and this is what I am so excited about, protect our way of life. These freedoms don’t protect themselves. People died for them and we as an opposition need to continually ensure we are holding this government to account for a failure to protect the freedoms that Australians have. Look these women, let’s be clear who they are. Again, they weren’t tourists. They didn’t just go down to the local travel agent and say, I’d like to go off to Syria. They weren’t tourists. They weren’t confused travellers. They made a very, very deliberate decision to turn their back on our great country, to turn their back on democracy, equality before the law, freedom of religion, and in particular, the irony of this one, Gary respect for women. They joined a terrorist organization that stands for brutality, extremism and depression. That choice matters. So this government owes it to every single Australian to manage the risk if they are going to return. Australians deserve straight answers from this government, not weasel words.
Gary Hardgrave
Well, there’s nothing but straight comment from you. Michaelia Cash, when you’re in Brisbane, come into the studio.
Senator Cash
Cannot wait to see you. Thanks a lot.
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