MATTERS OF URGENCY

Senator WALKER (South Australia) (16:48): I rise today to discuss something that should be completely uncontroversial. If an Australian chooses to travel overseas to join or support a terrorist organisation, that is appalling. There is no excuse for it.

I have no sympathy for someone who supports an organisation that murders civilians, persecutes communities and uses terror to achieve its political aims. Where Australians have committed terrorism offences, they should face the consequences. We are a country governed by laws, and the rule of law matters most when the person involved is someone who has done something horrible.

Australia cannot simply decide that an Australian citizen is somebody else's problem because they have done something inexcusable overseas. I expect we will continue to hear about individual cases, including women who have travelled to ISIS-controlled territory, the indoctrination of children, criminal charges and decisions to grant bail. These are deeply confronting cases, and nobody on this side is pretending otherwise.

And, if a case raises legitimate questions about whether our terrorism laws, bail laws or other safeguards are adequate, then we should examine them. If our agencies need additional powers, there should be a case made for them. If safeguards need strengthening, bring the evidence to the parliament and let us legislate accordingly.

But that is very different from using one confronting case to justify abandoning the principle that Australia takes responsibility for its own citizens. Australians who commit terrorism offences should be investigated, charged and prosecuted. Where someone poses an ongoing threat, our national security agencies have extensive powers to manage that threat, and, where those powers are inadequate, parliament can strengthen them.

Australia has been dealing with these cases for years. In fact, 45 men returned from fighting in Iraq and Syria before this government even came to office. This government has used every tool available to manage people who have returned, including temporary exclusion orders where the minister has received advice that issuing one was possible and appropriate.

So, if One Nation genuinely believes our laws are inadequate, show us where. Show us the evidence. Propose something that actually fixes the problem.

The current TEO system was designed by the former government to sit at the absolute limit of what is constitutionally possible. Putting decisions to issue TEOs in the hands of the courts adds another legal hurdle without any reason to believe more orders would be issued. There is another, practical problem.

Australia expects other countries to take back their citizens when we deport criminals from Australia. We cannot turn around and announce that Australia will not take responsibility for ours. There is something particularly ugly about One Nation presenting itself as the great defender of Australian safety—because apparently not all threats to Australians are treated equally.

Just last month, Senator Hanson described domestic violence as a 'two-way street' and suggested women experiencing abuse should simply not 'put up with it'. If only it were that easy. She has previously described paid family and domestic violence leave as domestic violence holiday leave and suggested domestic violence was taking police away from real crime.

I think the families of Australians killed by their partners might have something to say about whether that counts as real crime. Over 2024-25, 98 Australians were killed in domestic homicides; 46 were killed by an intimate partner. On average, an Australian woman was killed by an intimate partner every 11 days.

These are not hypothetical threats. These are dead Australians. When One Nation talk about the safety of Australians, they really need to be more consistent.