‘Disgraceful’: Bitter debate erupts over Syria repatriations

The federal government has accused the opposition of “rank hypocrisy” for opposing the repatriation of Australian relatives of Islamic State fighters from refugee camps in Syria as debate over the issue grows increasingly personal and partisan.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton visited Fairfield, in western Sydney, on Thursday to meet with community leaders concerned about the repatriations and demand more details from the government about how the women and children would be integrated into society.

Many of the 43 women and children still in the Syrian camps are expected to settle in western Sydney, while a particularly challenging cohort will be resettled in Melbourne after this month’s Victorian state election.

In her strongest comments since four women and 13 children were brought to Australia from the al-Roj camp in northern Syria last week, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said: “I think the politicking that is going on from the opposition leader is disgraceful.”

O’Neil told the ABC: “It is rank hypocrisy because the Liberals did exactly the same thing in 2019 – repatriated a group of people from these camps.

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“For some reason, they are now saying this is not appropriate to do. People are sick of this kind of politics.”

Education Minister Jason Clare, whose electorate of Blaxland is in western Sydney, told Channel Seven: “The Morrison government did exactly the same thing three years ago … For the Coalition to now say they’re against that makes them hypocrites.”

Dutton was home affairs minister at the time.