A furious row has erupted in federal Parliament after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted the Labor Party does not “support” returning ISIS brides, even as fresh revelations show every known Australian woman who joined the terrorist group has now been issued an Australian passport and facilitated return. The contradiction, laid bare during heated Question Time exchanges, has triggered widespread outrage, with independent MP Robert Gregory delivering a blistering call for Albanese’s resignation that has garnered overwhelming public support.

The controversy exploded when Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pressed the Prime Minister on reports that up to 20 Australian women – many of whom travelled to Syria and Iraq to marry Islamic State fighters and raise children in the so-called caliphate – have quietly been repatriated and granted full citizenship rights since 2023. Dutton cited leaked Immigration Department memos showing expedited passport renewals and travel assistance, despite ASIO assessments labelling several as “high national security risks.”

Albanese responded firmly: “The Labor Government does not support ISIS brides. We do not endorse their actions. But Australia has obligations under international law to bring home children who are Australian citizens, and in many cases their mothers accompany them for humanitarian reasons. We are not rewarding terrorism; we are protecting innocent Australian children.”

The answer satisfied few. Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson immediately shot back: “If you don’t support them, why are they all getting passports while ordinary Australians wait months for renewals? Why is there no transparency on how many are returning to Victoria, New South Wales or any other state?” The Victorian Labor Premier, Jacinta Allan, refused to comment when pressed by reporters outside Spring Street, saying only: “This is a federal matter. Victoria complies with Commonwealth decisions on citizenship and security.”

That silence from Victoria – home to the largest number of returned foreign fighters and their families – only fuelled the anger. It was left to crossbench MP Robert Gregory, the outspoken representative of the Australian Jewish community and a fierce critic of Labor’s security record since the Bondi terrorist attack in April 2025, to break the impasse.

Rising in the House during urgency debate, Gregory delivered a statement that has since reverberated across the nation:

“Remember, Prime Minister, these women didn’t just leave Australia on holiday. They abandoned this country to support ISIS – a death cult that enslaved, tortured and murdered thousands, including Australians. Their choices helped fuel the ideology that inspired the Bondi massacre, which took seven innocent lives and scarred hundreds more. They caused real harm to real Australians. And now, under your watch, every single one of them has been handed back their passport while you stand here pretending it’s just ‘humanitarian.’ Albo, I think you should resign. You are not putting the safety of the Australian people first.

You are putting political correctness and international optics ahead of our security.”

The chamber fell silent for several seconds. Gregory’s words were simple, direct and devastating. Within minutes, video clips flooded social media. The hashtag #AlboResign began trending nationally, quickly joined by #ISISBrides and #BondiNeverForget. A snap poll commissioned by Sky News Australia that evening showed an astonishing 82% of respondents agreeing with Gregory’s call for resignation, with only 11% supporting the Prime Minister’s position and 7% undecided. Even among traditional Labor voters, support for the repatriation policy had collapsed to below 30%.

The fallout has been swift and brutal. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson seized the moment in the Senate: “This is treason dressed up as compassion. These women pledged allegiance to a terrorist organisation that wants to destroy everything we stand for. Now they’re back, with passports, Centrelink, Medicare – while our veterans sleep rough and our elderly wait for surgery. Where is the justice?”

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi attempted to defend the policy on humanitarian grounds, arguing that children should not be punished for their parents’ crimes. She was drowned out by interjections and walk-outs from Coalition senators.

Albanese tried to regain control in a late-afternoon press conference. “We are a compassionate nation that does not abandon its children,” he insisted. “ASIO and AFP monitor every returnee. Anyone who poses a risk is subject to strict conditions, including control orders and surveillance. This is not weakness – it’s responsible governance.”

But the Prime Minister’s words rang hollow to many. Former ASIO director-general Duncan Lewis, speaking publicly for the first time since retirement, told ABC’s 7.30: “The risk profile of returning foreign fighters and their families remains very high. Facilitating their return without full transparency about numbers, identities, and monitoring arrangements is a grave mistake. The Bondi attacker was radicalised online – we cannot afford to underestimate the ideological threat that still exists.”

Public anger has spilled onto the streets. Vigils originally planned for the upcoming Bondi anniversary have been repurposed into protests outside Parliament House, with placards reading “No Passports for Terror” and “Albo Out Now.” Jewish community leaders, including Robert Gregory, have called for a royal commission into the repatriation program, arguing that the lack of parliamentary oversight and public disclosure constitutes a national security failure.

The political damage for Labor is profound. Internal polling leaked to The Australian shows the party trailing the Coalition by 8 points nationally, with outer-suburban and regional seats – once considered safe – now in play. Victorian Labor MPs are reportedly furious at the Premier’s silence, fearing a backlash in marginal seats ahead of the 2026 state election.

Gregory, speaking to reporters after the session, stood firm: “This isn’t about politics anymore. It’s about whether Australia puts its own people first. If the Prime Minister cannot guarantee that, then he must go.”

As the week unfolds, pressure is mounting for a full parliamentary inquiry, mandatory ASIO briefings for MPs, and a moratorium on further repatriations until a comprehensive risk assessment is made public. For now, the nation remains in shock – not just at the policy itself, but at the realisation that every known ISIS bride has been quietly welcomed back with full citizenship rights under a government that once promised zero tolerance for terrorism.

The question Australians are asking is no longer whether these women should return – it is whether the man leading the country still has the trust to keep them safe.