Live: Coalition’s approach to IS-linked families ‘extraordinary’, NGO says

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the new shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, both say they are keen to do something about “intergenerational inequality”.

That theme figured in both of their maiden speeches, Chalmers in 2013 and Wilson three years later, and they still talk about it frequently.

Chalmers is the only one who can do something about it for a while, specifically with Treasury’s seventh Intergenerational Report due soon and the budget in May.

Will he? He says he will. And would Tim Wilson support him if he did? Probably not.

But I’ve got news for both of them: inequality, and specifically the intergenerational kind, will only be dealt with by taxing the people who have the money, not by cutting the taxes of those who don’t have it.

The latter is much nicer, preferred by all politicians, but it won’t work.

Read more at the link below.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has revealed up to a third of the cohort of Australians with links to Islamic State would settle in his state should they return from Syria.

The group of 34 Australians, including 23 children, was turned back to the camp last week after leaving on the first leg of their journey home.

Minns criticised the adults for travelling to the region but said he had sympathy and was worried for the children.

“If they were to return to NSW, then I think we need to be transparent, the NSW government would educate them, and we would make sure that they were safe,” he said.

“If there is a child in our state who is an Australian, then I think most Australians would say, ‘Yeah, you need to provide schooling for them.’

“I worry about where these children will be in the years ahead, and I worry about what the consequences of doing nothing for them if they did return to Australia would be.”

He said the NSW government had been working with the government since late last year about any possible arrivals from Syria.

Don Farrell says a free trade deal with the European Union is close and that only a few issues need to be ironed out.

Both Australia and the EU are on the cusp of signing a free trade agreement after years of disagreement.

The most recent disagreement, in 2023, centred on tariff barriers for larger quantities of agricultural exports such as beef and lamb.

Speaking to Sky News, Farrell says a deal with the EU is close and that there are a few last minute sticking points between with two sides.

But he says the government won’t agree to anything that doesn’t give Australia fair access to the European market for agricultural products.

“We’ve made more progress in the last few weeks than in the last 25 years,” Farrell says.

“I’m optimistic and I think what President Trump has done over the weekend has given us further impetus,” he says.

Australia’s trade minister will seek to bring forward a meeting with his US counterpart to discuss new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump says he will slap a 15 per cent tariff on US imports from all countries, after the US Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff regime.

Speaking to Sky News, Don Farrell says the Australian government is still unclear whether the tariff will be 10 per cent or 15 per cent.

He says a 15 per cent figure could have implications for Australia because it could mean the country loses its competitive advantage.

Farrell says he’s going to try and bring a meeting forward with his US counterpart and trade representative Jamieson Greer.

“We have to make it very clear to them, to the Americans, that we are not happy with this decision, it’s not consistent with our trade agreement and it’s not consistent with the way allies should be treating one another,” Farrell says.

Save the Children has responded to the Coalition’s proposal to make it illegal to help Australians with links to IS return from Syria.

Mat Tinkler, the group’s chief executive, said “any attempt to criminalise advocacy for Australian children stranded overseas would be extraordinary”.

“Save the Children has already made it clear that we are not facilitating the re-entry of Australian citizens from northeastern Syria. We have not, and will not, conduct extraction or repatriation operations.

“As a humanitarian organisation, we abide by principles of neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity and operate in compliance with Australian and international law.

” In the case of innocent children stranded in camps in north-eastern Syria, our role has been twofold: providing them with lifesaving humanitarian relief and advocating for national governments to repatriate their citizens.”

Tinkler said no Australian child should be left “stranded”.

“We call on political parties to dial down the political rhetoric. It is time to show leadership and compassion for Australian children,” he said.

“The race to the bottom at the expense of vulnerable children’s lives must end.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says there are exemptions in the Coalition’s proposed laws for providing humanitarian support.

Asked if the Coalition has sought the advice of constitutional experts, Taylor the opposition has done its due diligence.

“We’ve done everything we can to make sure that this has the very best chance of succeeding in keeping terrorist sympathisers out of our country,” Taylor says.

The shadow home affairs minister says the opposition will introduce the draft bill to parliament in the next sitting fortnight.

Jonno Duniam says the opposition’s proposed laws to prevent people from helping IS-linked families return home will target “active” supporters.

Duniam says the laws won’t target people who lobby for the return of people who’ve been to designated terrorist areas.

The shadow home affairs minister says it will target those who provide assistance to IS-linked families overseas.

“This is about active support to get people out of these areas when they’ve been participating in these activities,” Duniam says.

“As outlined, this is about people who are seeking to bring people we don’t want in this country back to Australia,” he says.

The opposition leader doesn’t seem open to allowing the children of Australian women connected to ISIS fighters back into Australia.

Angus Taylor says the opposition is “comfortable” with keeping the families out of the country.

“They are people who have sympathised with terrorist organisations. They’ve been to areas, terrorist zones, and so they shouldn’t be coming back to the country. That’s our starting point,” Taylor says.

The shadow home affairs minister says it’s “terrible” that children are in involved and that the people who took their children overseas made “very bad decisions”.

“It is very difficult when we’re talking about children, we have to do what’s right by this country first, and we have to get it absolutely right. When it comes to making decisions about who comes in and where they come from,” Jonno Duniam says.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam has been asked whether the opposition’s proposed laws will target groups, like Save the Children, for helping bring the families home.

Duniam says it’s not about targeting a particular group, individuals or organisations, but rather anyone who breaks the laws.

“As we know, there are individuals here with the tacit approval of this government who are allowing people to return, they are coming home under this government, they are coming back to Australia,” Duniam says.

“We are seeking to find ways to stop that from happening,” he says.

Angus Taylor says the laws are targeting “terrorist sympathisers”.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has stepped up for a press conference in Brisbane with Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam.

The opposition leader says the Coalition will introduce legislation when parliament returns to make it an offence to help ISIS-linked families return to Australia.

Taylor says Australia needs to “shut the door” to people who bring hate and violence to Australia, and who do not share core values.

He says Labor has “done everything but drive these people to the airport to support them returning to Australia”.

“Labor needs to be upfront with the Australian people about what is going on here. But most of all, Labor needs to support this legislation, which will help to protect Australians and protect our way of life,” Taylor says.

A Kurdish official in north-eastern Syria has cast doubt on how quickly a group of Australians linked to Islamic State could make another attempt to begin their long journey home, suggesting the Australian government’s criticism of the women will frustrate that process.

The 11 women and 23 children tried to leave the Al-Roj camp for families of killed and captured Islamic State fighters last Monday morning.

But Syrian government authorities blocked their travel beyond the Kurdish-controlled territory around the camp, forcing them to abandon the attempt to reach Damascus.

Al-Roj is in the Kurdish-controlled autonomous region in north-eastern Syria — an area that has its own militia, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Sheikhmous Ahmed, the coordinator of camps for Islamic State families and refugees for the Kurdish authorities, told the ABC the public comments had been heard loud and clear.

“The Australian government announced officially, through the media, that it did not submit requests and does not wish to evacuate the Al-Roj families,” Ahmed said in Hasakah.

“We hope that there will be coordination between the Australian government and the autonomous administration and the SDF to evacuate its citizens from Al-Roj camp.”

Read more from Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran, Sami Sockol and Bardekhan Ahmad at the link below.

A lot has been written about One Nation cannibalising the Coalition’s vote, but less attention has been given to how the rise of the once-fringe party is also framing our political discourse and activating Labor.

The One Nation freight train is pushing our politics to the right, particularly on issues of immigration. Over the past week, we witnessed the hardening of the rhetoric used by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the so-called ISIS brides.

Albanese was in the parliament when Labor was last in government, and scores of boats arrived. It may not be the same as the ISIS bride issue, but it is adjacent politically, and he knows it can cause an inferno for Labor if it doesn’t shut the issue down.

Read more at the link below.

Health Minister Mark Butler says the government is considering boosting funding to GP clinics in specific regions where bulk billing rates remain low.

Labor has pledged to make 9 out of 10 visits to the doctor free by 2030.

But bulk billing rates in the ACT, Hobart, Perth and the Hunter in New South Wales remain below the national average.

Butler says he’s looking at ways to target specific regions.

“We’re looking at it very closely, particularly the Hunter and Newcastle, which have been very stubborn in their bulk billing rates. But for other markets, we’ll have a longer look than three or four months and see how it develops,” he told ABC’s AM.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland says the government will need to check if the opposition’s proposal to punish those who try to facilitate the return of IS-linked Australians is legally possible.

The opposition wants to make it a criminal offence to help repatriate Australians with links to Islamic State.

Ms Rowland says any proposed laws “would need to be done in consultation with our agencies”.

“I’ve only seen the reports. I haven’t seen precisely what is being proposed,” she told Channel Seven’s Sunrise program.

“But we also would obviously need to take advice on whether this would be legally valid.

“We would also need to ensure that any such laws are consistent with our obligations.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed the opposition’s push to make it illegal to help Australians with links to IS return to Australia

“They don’t have serious plans. If they did, they wouldn’t have allowed more than 40 people, including fighters, on their watch when they were in government,” he said.

Albanese was also asked what advice the government has received on any new legislation it may be considering to keep the cohort out of Australia.

He said the advice was “the same advice that frankly the Coalition got”.

“Which is why the laws that are in place are the laws that were put there by the Coalition,” he said.

“They pretend that the Constitution doesn’t exist. They know there are limits to what can be done. But I repeat, our position is we are not repatriating people, and we’re not providing assistance.”

Anthony Albanese says the upcoming Farrer by-election will be a test for both Angus Taylor and David Littleproud.

“Will they put One Nation last on their how-to-vote cards?,” the prime minister asked.

“They can’t be just One Nation-lite coming up with similar policies to One Nation. They need to be responsibile going forward.

“John Howard always put One Nation last on the how-to-vote [cards] of the Liberal Party. We’ll wait and see what decisions Angus Taylor and David Littleproud are prepared to make if, as appears likely, they both run against each other in this by-election.”

It’s expected the Nationals and the Liberals will run candidates in the Farrer by-election, setting up a four cornered tussle with an independent and One Nation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is visiting an urgent care clinic in Albury this morning.

He’s just stepped up to address the media. It’s probably no surprise he’s already whipped out the Medicare card.

“What it tells you is that you can get the care that you need with just your Medicare card, regardless of your wealth or who you are,” he says.

Albury sits within the seat of Farrer. The electorate is due to be vacated by former opposition leader Sussan Ley upon her resignation from parliament.

Labor has yet to say it will run a candidate in the by-election.

“We haven’t made a decision about standing a candidate yet. Traditionally, we haven’t stood candidates where it’s unlikely that we would be successful,” Albanese says.

The PM adds a decision will be made when Ley resigns.

Non-government organisations like Save the Children could be captured under proposed laws to make it illegal to help Australians with links to IS return to Australia, Ted O’Brien says.

“To the extent that they are assisting foreign fighters, families or sympathisers of terrorists, yes it would. To the extent that they are providing humanitarian services, no it would not,” he says.

The shadow foreign minister was pressed on whether the legislation would have an exemption for helping children. He says there would be no automatic exemption.

Shadow Foreign Minister Ted O’Brien has dialed into ABC’s Radio National Breakfast, where he’s also asked about the Coalition’s latest proposal.

The opposition wants to introduce laws to make it illegal to help Australians with links to IS return to Australia.

O’Brien said self-managed returns, where the women and children make their own way back to Australia rather than being repatriated by the government, were a loophole that needed to be closed.

“Under that arrangement, it permits non-government third parties to organise terrorists and their affiliates to enter Australia, and they can do that on their own without government oversight,” he says.

“So this proposed law closes that loophole, brings back responsibility to lie with the government and doesn’t allow the government to effectively outsource the repatriation of terror sympathisers back to Australia.”

He argues this would give security agencies time to interview people and “assess the risk from a national security perspective”.

“That’s one of the problems we see in this case because the government has outsourced this to third parties. We have not seen that degree of assessment undertaken.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has defended a proposal to make it an offence to help IS-linked families return to Australia as “reasonable”.

He argued it was already illegal for someone to visit a terrorist hotspot or support a terrorist organisation.

“This would extend to anyone who wanted to bring those people back to Australia through the back door,” Taylor said.

Asked if the Coalition was trying to prosecute charity organisations like Save the Children, Taylor responded:

“Well, we’re going after anyone who might assisted someone who has been in a terrorist zone or who has supported and has been part of a terrorist organisation in assisting repatriation.”

An exception would apply in circumstances where the government had given “express permission” for repatriation.