TV interview with Minister Butler, Sunrise – 1 May 2026

NATALIE BARR, HOST: Four ISIS brides and nine children have reportedly been blocked from leaving Syria for Australia, with the Syrian government saying they were turned back from the airport in Damascus because, quote, the Australian government had refused to receive them. Let's bring in Health Minister Mark Butler and Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume Good morning. Mark, did someone from our government tell Syrian officials we're not going to receive them?
 
MARK BUTLER, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING, MINISTER FOR DISABILITY AND THE NDIS: I've read this report overnight, Nat. The Prime Minister said yesterday we're not participating with Syrian authorities. Obviously, I'm not in a position to speak for the Syrian government, but our position has been crystal clear right through the course of this story that we're not going to provide any assistance to repatriate these people who chose to go overseas and provide their support. In some cases, their partners chose to fight for a death cult ISIS that is opposed to every one of the Australian values that I can think about.
 
BARR: Yeah, but for weeks you've also said we can't stop them. By Australian law, we have to issue them with passports. We had to do the DNA. That was law. And now they get almost onto the plane, basically, and they've been stopped. And Syria is saying, we stopped them. So what do you know about that?
 
BUTLER: You're right to say there are elements of Australian law that obviously we need to comply with. As a law abiding government. If they seek a passport, we're required by law to give it to them. But we've also been clear with them that if they come back to Australia, if they've committed any offences, they'll be met with the full force of the law by Australian authorities. But again, I can't speak for Syrian authorities, Nat. The Prime Minister said yesterday quite clearly that we're not engaged with Syrian authorities about this matter but our position could not have been clearer from the Prime Minister down we have said this week after week, our position is we're not providing any assistance to these families.
 
BARR: So the government doesn't know what's happened overnight at Damascus International Airport?
 
BUTLER:I've read the reports overnight. I can't speak for what decisions Syrian authorities are taking. All we've seen is the media reports so far.
 
BARR: So our government knows nothing?
 
BUTLER: Our government's position has been clear. I think the Minister for Home Affairs said yesterday obviously we're not across the detail of what these people are trying to do because we're not providing any assistance. They are their own individuals over on the other side of the world. If they're seeking to avail themselves of travel opportunities, they're not doing that with our information because we're not engaged with them.
 
BARR: Yeah, no, it's just that you've got a foreign government saying that our government has refused to receive them. Jane, it just seems unusual, but unusual stuff happens. America is wanting to shut the camps. They're wanting us to repatriate them. Where does Australia stand here? What do you think's happened?
 
JANE HUME, DEPUTY OPPOSITION LEADER: Well, it's not just unusual. It's entirely inconsistent. Mark says that the government's been unequivocal, but at the same time, you're right. They have issued passports. They haven't issued temporary exclusion orders. And at the same time, they've allowed third parties to take control over the situation, trying to repatriate these people who have sought to do those that are aligned with Australia harm. We have been very clear from the beginning these people should not return to Australia and with all due respect to the US we should be in charge of who it is that comes to our country. We're responsible for our borders and the security of our citizens. So I thank the US for their advice. However, it's up to the Australian government now to make sure that they are doing everything in their power to keep Australians safe. Now, we will work with the government to do exactly this. We would like them to adopt the laws that the Coalition have proposed to stop these third parties taking control and bringing people back into our country that may well seek to do us harm or pose a threat.
 
BARR: Okay, we'll see if we can find out more information on that today. Moving on, the interim report into anti-Semitism is out, handing down 14 recommendations to the government in the wake of the Bondi terror attack. It finds funding for counter-terrorism had actually declined in the lead-up, despite a 31 per cent boost to intelligence agencies overall. Mark, there seems to be a mismatch here. So where did that extra money go and why wasn't more of it directed to stopping attacks like this?
 
BUTLER: The Royal Commissioner said that she'd be doing some more work over the course of the rest of the Commission on this question of funding, particularly in such an unstable environment. But as you said, funding to our intelligence agencies has climbed over recent years. Obviously, she found, I think, the core finding and the core reason for this interim report was whether there was urgent or immediate action the governments, including state governments, should take to change the way in which our counter-terrorism agencies were set up and operated and she found that there was not any need for immediate action. But importantly she did provide some recommendations to the Commonwealth and to state governments as well about ways in which that function could be enhanced and yesterday the Prime Minister said we had accepted all of those recommendations. I saw Premier Minns- obviously, given this was in New South Wales Premier Minns also accepting those recommendations, so we'll get busy about implementing them.
 
BARR: Yeah, Jane, she also said that Jewish Australians are now at greater risk than before the Bondi attack. Do you think there needs to be a look at where this money's going?
 
HUME: Absolutely. The 14 recommendations are going to be profoundly important. I'm glad the government has accepted them. It was a damning indictment on the preparedness of the Albanese government in a time of threat and crisis. I mean, the Prime Minister couldn't even hold a meeting correctly. He called the wrong group of people around a table before he got- twice, not once, but twice, before he got the right group of people to deal in response to the Bondi tragedy. He said that the report said that the National Security Committee was not match fit. Well, that's a terrible indictment on the Labor government and Anthony Albanese himself. I'm hoping that there is going to be a very quick response to these recommendations. We haven't been fully briefed on the ones that have been left confidential. I'm hoping that that will happen today.
 
BARR: Are we going to get those or are they going to remain confidential, Mark?
 
BUTLER: My understanding is that they were deliberately kept confidential by the Royal Commissioner because of national security considerations.
 
BARR: Okay. Thank you very much. We'll see you next week.