Government will not say if further Australian family members of Islamic State fighters on track to return
Penny Wong was questioned over the government's involvement in plans to repatriate Australians linked to the Islamic State in Syria. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)
In short:
The government will not divulge whether it expects further family members of Islamic State fighters to return to Australia, amid questions over its involvement in an earlier repatriation plan.
Documents released through Senate estimates show Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke discussed the plight of the women and children in a meeting months before a group arrived in Australia.
What's next?
Labor has repeatedly said it would not assist with the return of the cohort, despite offers from the United States to facilitate.
The foreign affairs minister will not reveal whether more Australian citizens linked to Islamic State fighters are on track to return from Syria, after questions arose over the government's role in an earlier repatriation plan.
A group of two women and four children returned to Australia in late September, six years after the terror organisation's defeat, but the government has consistently maintained that it was not involved in their removal from Syria.
The Coalition on Thursday seized on notes of a meeting between Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, department officials and Save the Children, in which the plight of the women and children was discussed, to claim the government had played a role.
An internal department read-out of the June meeting, released during Senate estimates this week, reported Mr Burke as stating that the government does not have a plan to get Australians out of the camp "at this time" and that it did not want to be perceived as "paying to have them smuggled out".
The document, which is not a transcript, also said the minister "stated there may be a way to achieve the outcome without government undertakings".
"At this stage, I was asked to leave by the minister to enable a frank discussion to take place," the official wrote.
Tony Burke met with Save the Children to discuss the plight of Australians stuck in Syria months before a group of six returned home. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
Separate handwritten notes, jotted down during the meeting by Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster, included a reference to "TB" and a "c'ment to find a way".
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonathon Duniam pointed to this as evidence the government was working with Save the Children to bring the group back to Australia and called on the government to explain what was discussed at the meeting.
"The fact that secret meetings were held with no public officials, that redacted documents have been released, that Tony Burke directly expressed a commitment to assist, completely destroys their argument that they weren't involved," he said.
In a statement, Mr Burke said the notes confirmed the government's standing position, which is that there was a request from Save the Children to repatriate the Australians and that it was refused.
"There was no repatriation and no assistance. Public servants did what they were legally obliged to do and no more," he said.
Senator Wong, under questioning in estimates, said the six people who arrived in September were the only group to return to Australia recently that the government knew of.
But neither she or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary would be drawn on whether they were aware of other groups of women and children who were currently on their way back to Australia or might also return soon.
"We have known there are individuals from these camps who have an intention to return,” DFAT secretary Jan Adams said.
"We have complete confidence in our security agencies to monitor people of concern."
Senator Wong also said it was the wrong committee for the Coalition to press officials on the issue.
"These are matters for Home Affairs, not for me personally [and] not for the portfolio," she said.
It is estimated that around 34 Australians remain in Syria.
Government rejects US offer to facilitate repatriation
A subsequent letter from Save the Children representatives to the government, dated August 15 and also released this week, appeared to support the government's assertion that it refused to assist with the repatriation plans.
In the letter, the representatives expressed their disappointment that the government "has decided not to actively support the repatriation of these Australians".
"Notwithstanding this, family members are seeking to take control of their own destiny and have recently confirmed that the US Government has offered to provide support for repatriations in the year term," the letter read.
It added that there was no guarantee the American offer would remain after September.
"A pre-condition of any US-facilitated repatriation will be that the children and their carers possess appropriate travel documents, as is their right as Australian citizens," the letter continued.
"We assume the government's usual process will be followed in this process."
The United States has long pressured other countries to repatriate their citizens in Syria and offered to facilitate the process.
"Repatriating vulnerable populations before they are radicalised is not just compassion — it is a decisive blow against ISIS’s ability to regenerate," Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the US Central Command, said in September.
"The United States will continue supporting the coalition and all nations committed to bringing their citizens home."
At the time, Central Command announced it would establish a "repatriation cell" in north-east Syria, tasked with coordinating the return of displaced or detained people to their home countries.
Australia has so far rejected the offer and maintained it would not support any repatriation efforts.
"We're not engaging in a repatriation. Minister Burke has been very clear of this," Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday.