Chris Kenny: I want to get to issues outside your portfolio to start with and this proposal from the Coalition, not only to stop the current Islamic State families from getting back to Australia, we’ve heard of the arguments about how that could be done over recent days but a proposal for new laws that would make it a crime for citizens of this country to help in that process. Explain that to us?
Senator Henderson: Chris, good afternoon. Under Angus Taylor’s leadership we have made it very clear that we will do anything and everything to protect Australians’ way of life and, of course, to restore their living standards, something that the government is failing very dramatically on both fronts. So we have announced that we will introduce legislation to make it a crime for any person or organisation to travel to a terrorist hotspot and to assist terrorist supporters to return to Australia. We’re doing this, Chris, because frankly, the government has failed dramatically to give Australians any assurance that our community will be safe. They are ducking and weaving, they are not telling the truth. For this Prime Minister to talk about unity, what a joke. He is dividing our country by not putting Australians first. And this is why this legislation is so important.
Chris Kenny: Just to be clear on this, we are led to believe that Dr Jamal Riffey, a well-known Lebanese-Australian man, I know him well myself, is in Syria allegedly trying to organise the repatriation of these people. Now he will be doing this for his own altruistic reasons. There is no suggestion that would be against the law now and he’s not returning my messages at the moment, so we can’t even confirm all this but this is what has been reported is happening. But what you’re saying is, under your new laws, an Australian citizen doing that would be breaking the law. They would know that it’s illegal to go and try and arrange this sort of repatriation?
Senator Henderson: Absolutely, and also organisations. And we know that Tony Burke, the minister, has been working behind closed doors with the organisation, Save the Children, which is also involved in attempting to bring back this cohort of ISIS brides and their children. That is simply not good enough. So anyone looking to come back to Australia, they must of course, be properly assessed. And so that’s why there is a humanitarian and security assessment exception built into the proposed legislation because it is our security agencies which must make this determination and not individuals, not organisations going through the back door, bringing terrorist supporters back to this country. That is absolutely not good enough, Chris, and the fact that the Prime Minister is just throwing his hands in the air and saying nothing to do with me, this is a self-managed return. What a load of absolute rubbish. There is a fundamental obligation of every government to keep Australians safe and the Prime Minister and his government are failing Australians dramatically on that front.
Chris Kenny: Sarah Henderson, thanks so much for joining us.
