According to Credlin on Sky News Australia, Pauline Hanson has written to Angus Taylor offering One Nation support for any legislation that will prevent ISIS members from returning to Australia.

There has been a letter written by Pauline Hanson to Opposition Leader Angus Taylor. This is in relation to Doctor Jihad and the 13 men we know that are in prison, in Iraq, wanting, we are told, to return to Australia. There are probably more of them elsewhere, but this is what know of in terms of Iraq. And [Pauline] has asked for a meeting with Angus Taylor, she says there is a commitment … an offer … from One Nation to support legislation to keep these ISIS-linked individuals out of Australia. She says:

‘One Nation will vote with the Coalition in any piece of legislation that strengthens Australia’s counter-terrorism laws…’

She also makes it very very clear that they will work together with the Coalition to draft the legislation.

The man referred to as ‘Doctor Jihad’ is Perth-born doctor Tareq Kamleh, who left Australia to join ISIS in Syria. He has been presumed dead since 2017. Kamleh is instead in a Baghdad prison.

His role inside the terrorist organisation remains under investigation by Iraqi authorities. The AFP reportedly have an active arrest warrant for him should he return.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has already come out to criticise the Albanese government over the ISIS Bride saga.

‘We have seen over the last week an ISIS Bride get out on bail, and now, just in the last day or so, we’ve seen an ISIS terrorist who’s living offshore, wanting to come back to our country. The Labor Party needs to commit to preventing that from happening. They have many levers at their disposal. They can ensure that this person does not get a passport, they can use temporary exclusion orders. We have put legislation in front of the Parliament to prevent third parties from helping people like him, terrorists, back into the country.’

Labor has been called on to comment about this next group of ISIS supporters who are seeking to return. (There are believed to be many more.)

Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt struggled to convince the public with his response on the Today show:

‘We’ve made it clear for some time now that we won’t be providing assistance as a government to anyone who’s made the absolutely awful decision to go and join a foreign terrorist organisation.’

It’s a bit awkward when you look back to February. This is what the Prime Minister said about the ISIS Brides (who are now wandering around Australia).

Albanese insisted the government would not provide ‘any assistance or repatriation’.

‘My mother would have said if you make your bed, you lie in it. These are people who went overseas supporting Islamic State and went there to provide support for people who basically want a caliphate.’

Labor’s Mark Butler repeated it.

‘…our position has been crystal clear right through the course of this story that we’re not going to provide any assistance to repatriate these people who chose to go overseas and provide their support.’

When pressed by the host ‘…you’ve also said we can’t stop them. By Australian law, we have to issue them with passports…’

Butler added:

‘You’re right to say there are elements of Australian law that obviously we need to comply with. As a law-abiding government. If they seek a passport, we’re required by law to give it to them. But we’ve also been clear with them that if they come back to Australia, if they’ve committed any offences, they’ll be met with the full force of the law by Australian authorities.’

And yet … where are these ISIS Brides now?

Where will this next batch of ISIS fighters be in six months?

It is not as if this is the first batch. The Morrison government brought a group into Australia in 2019. Albanese brought some back in 2022 and again recently. This keeps happening, despite government assurances.

In all cases, politicians lean back on the law. There isn’t much they can do. Their hands are tied.

Some may argue ‘abiding by the law’ is a bit of a cop-out, considering the Australian government has had nearly two decades to re-write that law to protect Australia from returning ISIS (and related) terrorists.

The law can (and should) be changed.

Yes, they fiddled. A little. But clearly the door is not closed.

There have been so many opportunities to fix this problem, and yet it has never been a priority.

Why?

It is my view that if people are determined to engage in Medieval terror groups and commit Medieval crimes, maybe we should have a discussion about bringing back some Medieval legal punishments?

Our modern laws seem woefully ill-equipped to handle ISIS and other Islamic terror groups.

Their behaviour does not compete with our perspective.

We could always decide, as a society, to revive a version of exile and banishment for individuals who choose to engage with a rogue terror state and, as part of this potential law, automatically cancel Australian citizenship in favour of, for example, the Islamic State. It is not Australia’s fault if the Islamic State is defeated. Too bad, so sad…

Exile used to be incredibly common when governments had to deal with people who acted like this.

While Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights tries to ban exile, frankly, it is wrong to do so. There are crimes that may warrant such action, which is why the process existed in history. Ancient crimes warrant old laws. Maybe?

What about mandatory life-in-prison? Not 10 years or 20 years listed as life. Actual life. Never to walk free.

If returning ISIS fighters knew, for instance, the coming back to Australia automatically resulted in life-long prison sentences, we would not be having a discussion about international law and exile.

The failure sits with politicians who have had plenty of time to make the necessary changes. Both parties have held power during this time. Labor and Liberal. Both enjoyed majorities.

Why hasn’t it been done? Is there a concern about backlash at the election? Sydney and Melbourne have seen flag-waving ISIS protests in the past, complete with women, children, and men carrying signs threatening to behead the infidels. (No, none of them were arrested despite parading past police.)

Australians deserve some answers, from Albanese and Taylor, about decades of legislative failure on this subject.

Why should innocent Australians be forced to live amongst those who voluntarily joined an Islamic terrorist group that swore to destroy the West?

They can ramble on and wring their hands about ‘social cohesion’ all they want, but the fact remains that dangerous fighters from foreign wars keep knocking on our door.

What do you think?

Are you happy with the government’s handling of ISIS fighters, or should Angus Taylor accept Pauline Hanson’s offer…