It will cost Australian taxpayers millions of dollars for the government to surveil and rehabilitate each so-called ISIS bride and their family, as the PM warns he has "zero sympathy" for the women who now face serious criminal charges.
The opposition previously claimed the cost of round-the-clock monitoring for high-risk individuals with links to the Islamic State terror group in Australia totals $2 million per person each year, a figure Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has been unable to deny.
When asked if the figure was accurate, Gallagher told ABC Radio National that the government will "spend what we need to spend to keep Australians safe".
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"I would suggest the opposition would have done exactly the same if they were in government," she added.
Gallagher said the children of the ISIS brides and fighters who have returned to Australia in particular will require a lot of assistance and government-managed programs to reintegrate into society.
"We've consistently said the parents of these children have made a terrible decision to either take those children or have children in these camps or warzones," Gallagher said.
"They are Australian citizens, they are entitled to Australian citizenship.
"We need to make sure they are supported and managed appropriately."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that, while the returning children are the "victims of decisions", he has little sympathy for their parents.
"I have absolutely zero sympathy for these people," Albanese told reporters in Melbourne.
"I do have sympathy for the children, though… It is appropriate that they undergo support, children who have been subject to all sorts of horrors at those camps."
The PM reiterated that the Australian government did not assist in repatriating the ISIS-linked citizens, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump.
"They were not brought back. We chose to make our own decisions as a sovereign state and not provide any support," he added.
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Victorian Liberal MP Jason Wood earlier claimed the exborbitant yearly cost is spent on constant surveillence, with some returning citizens requiring at least two officers.
Coalition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam previously criticised the Labor government for not stopping the Islamic-linked group from arriving on Australian soil.
"Australian taxpayers who can't pay their own bills are not going to be happy about people who went to join a terrorist organisation and support those perpetrating crimes under that organisation's banner, getting welfare payments," he said.
"It's not right."
Dozens of ISIS fighters and their brides have returned to Australia since 2013.
Government plans have been in place since 2014 to manage the returning citizens.
A 13-person cohort of ISIS brides and their children are due to return to Australia, among them are the three women who now face criminal charges.
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Three ISIS brides arrested and charged
Two ISIS brides who were arrested after arriving in Melbourne yesterday have been charged with slavery offences allegedly committed during their time in Syria.
The two women, grandmother Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab, 31, were taken into custody by federal police as they landed at Melbourne International Airport yesterday evening.
Abbas has now been charged with four counts of crimes against humanity, including possessing and using a slave, and Zeinab has been charged with two counts of crimes against humanity.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) will allege in court that Abbas travelled to Syria in 2014 with her husband and children, and was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for $US10,000, and knowingly kept the woman in the home.
Officers will allege that 31-year-old Zeinab travelled to Syria in 2014 with her family and knowingly kept a female slave in the home.
Each of the charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment.
The two women have faced court and will make bail applications.
The charges come after a third ISIS bride, 32-year-old Janai Safar, was arrested after she landed in Sydney from Syria.
Safar has been charged for allegedly entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and joining ISIS.
The 32-year-old was denied bail while appearing in court via video link today.
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