Australia moves to delay return of extremists including Islamic State supporters for 2 years

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton put forward the bill on Thursday, noting that 230 Australians had gone to Syria and Iraq since 2012.

The law would give him the power to prevent suspected Australian extremists from returning home while law enforcement authorities made plans

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at the dispatch box in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: EPA

Published: 4:39pm, 4 Jul 2019Updated: 9:23pm, 4 Jul 2019

Australia’s government on Thursday proposed new laws that would prevent extremists from returning home for up to two years, as the country prepares for the repatriation of Islamic State supporters from the Middle East.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton introduced the legislation based on British law as part of a raft of counterterrorism and asylum seeker bills in the first parliamentary session since elections in May.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Photo: AP

The law would give Dutton the power to prevent suspected Australian extremists from returning home for up to two years while law enforcement authorities made plans to manage the risk posed. The orders could also apply to Australians who intelligence agencies assess to be a “risk to security for reasons related to politically motivated violence.”

Dutton said 230 Australians had flown to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups since 2012.

“Around 80 are still active in conflict zones. The advice of Australia’s national security agencies is that many Australians of counterterrorism concern who have travelled to Iraq and Syria to engage in that conflict are likely to seek to return to Australia in the very near future,” Dutton told parliament.