The Albanese government, with support from the Greens and key crossbench senators, has voted against a One Nation bill designed to prevent foreign terrorist fighters from returning to Australia. The Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill was defeated in the Senate on Thursday.
The legislation proposed establishing a court-based foreign terrorist fighter exclusion order. This would have empowered the Home Affairs Minister to seek Federal Court orders to block the return of Australian citizens found to have voluntarily served, participated in, or materially supported a listed terrorist organization overseas. The bill also included provisions for stricter bail conditions for terrorism offenders, expanded powers to cancel passports, and criminalized facilitating the return of suspected terrorist fighters.
Senator Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation, criticized the government's decision, stating that it failed in its primary responsibility to ensure national security. She accused the government of enabling the return of women linked to the Islamic State group and argued that existing laws are insufficient to protect the community.
Hanson indicated that the bill was largely a response to the government's decision in May to repatriate 19 Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps. One Nation maintained that these women willingly supported the Islamic State and should be permanently barred from returning. The government, however, stated that current national security and counter-terrorism laws legally obligate it to permit citizens to return.
Opponents of the bill argued that its provisions were unlikely to withstand legal challenges and that it duplicated existing powers under Australia's temporary exclusion order regime. Concerns were also raised during a Senate inquiry regarding the bill's broad drafting, including an undefined phrase related to protecting the Australian community and uncertainty about what conduct would trigger an exclusion order.
Greens senator David Shoebridge described the legislation as unconstitutional and accused One Nation of engaging in superficial politics rather than substantive reform. Independent senator David Pocock also opposed the bill, acknowledging the complexity of dealing with citizens who have traveled to and supported terrorist organizations abroad.
Following the vote, Hanson publicly stated that Labor, the Greens, Senator Fatima Payman, and Senator David Pocock had prioritized the return of terrorist fighters over the safety of the Australian public. She also questioned the government's transparency and accountability in its handling of the matter.