Two senior ministers shared a heated moment on live television during a discussion about Islamic State brides after a repatriated wife was charged by police.
Mariam Raad, 31, was charged on Thursday with entering an area controlled by a terrorist organisation following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team.
It's alleged the mother-of-four travelled to Syria in 2014 to join her husband, maths teacher turned ISIS recruiter Muhammad Zahab, who had left the year prior.
Police say Ms Raad, who was among a group of 17 women and children to be returned to Australia from a Syrian camp in October, was aware of her husband's activities and willingly travelled to a region to be with him.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten appeared on Friday's edition of Sunrise where the controversial topic was discussed.
Host Monique Wright posed whether Mr Shorten believed it was still the right decision to bring back the ISIS brides amid the charge against Ms Raad.
He insisted national security and the safety of Australians was at the forefront of the government's decision-making when it made the call to repatriate the families.
"There’s been an investigation, a charge been laid, I do think we’re doing the right thing," he said in response.
Mr Shorten was then pressed whether more brides and children would be returning to Australia when he noted kids of terrorists "didn't have any say in the matter".
"I think anyone who knowingly went to aid ISIS deserves the full weight of the law but I’m not convinced that every little child over there… we can monitor them better here in Australian than you can little kids getting radicalised in the Middle East," he added.
Ms Ley argued it was not in Australia's national interest to return brides before she was asked by the host if she thought only orphaned children should be brought back to the country and those with parents should be separated.
She noted the previous government had made that decision before posing a question to Mr Shorten about his earlier stance on the topic when he was the Labor leader.
"Bill as opposition leader agreed with it and I actually don’t think that Bill would have made Anthony Albanese made last year," the Deputy Liberal leader said.
"Would you have changed your mind from opposition leader and actually repatriated individuals who deliberately chose to join a mission that had at its heart the destruction of Australia or our Australian way of life?"
Mr Shorten responded blankly, "Sussan, I understand that you're sort of looking for an argument."
"The issue here is are we keeping Australians safe, yes we are, has information about one of these women who went across there and she has been charged, yes that’s the system working as we are, it wouldn’t be possible to charge her if she wasn’t here," he continued.
"I think the system is working as it should be. Despite all of the smoke and all of the sort of points scoring, the reality is there has been no suggestion that anyone whose come back here is actually causing any threat to safety. Police are monitoring them all."
Ms Wright posed to the Government Services Minister if it was a "storm in a tea cup", but he argued it was not and continue to reiterate the system was working.
"So, I’m not going to run around start scaring people with a whole of smoke when the reality is the information has come to light, the police, authorities… are doing their day job," Mr Shorten said.
Ley quickly responded saying she was "not looking for an argument" and was simply speaking up as the community was seeking answers.
Ms Raad, who has two boys and two girls, told The Australian in an interview while in the Syrian camp she was not a threat to Australia.
The 31-year-old insisted she wanted to put her children through school and flagged one of her daughters was suffering from developmental problems.
"My goal if I go back to Australia, I want to be a working mother... I want to put my kids in schools, to be educated, and to be smart," she said.
"I'm stressed. It's not easy being a single mother with four children in a camp. The boys are growing older and I go to sleep every night imagining they will be taken away from me."
It's believed her husband was killed in an airstrike in 2018.
The Australian Federal Police and NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team executed warrants and searched her home in Young and a property in Parklea on Thursday.
She faced Wagga Wagga Local Court on Friday where she was granted bail. It's also understood more women who returned last year will be charged.
https://news.google.com/__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_YW1w?oc=5
2023-01-06 00:05:47Z
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