Kyle Sandilands has hit out at Australians unhappy a group of ISIS brides and their children are back in Sydney after they were evacuated from a refugee camp in Syria.
In a furious rant on Thursday morning, Sandilands told his KIIS FM listeners that he fully supported the return of the women, who were married to Islamic State terrorists during the height of the militant group’s power.
Four women and 13 children arrived in NSW n Saturday with a further nine women and 29 kids expected to be repatriated in the coming weeks.
The Albanese Government has kept much of the operation’s details under wraps but it was widely reported the women would be subject to intense monitoring once they arrived back in Australia.
Kyle Sandilands (above) said he welcomes back former ISIS brides with ‘open arms’ because they were ‘tricked’ and are still Australian citizens
The women were spotted visiting McDonalds (above), playgrounds and a Kmart on Wednesday after arriving in Sydney from Syria on Saturday
This belief was shattered when the women and their children were spotted visiting McDonald’s, Kmart and playgrounds in Sydney’s west on Tuesday.
Sandilands called for people to remember the dire conditions the families have been living in at the al-Hol and al-Roj refugee camps in Syria.
‘They are Australian citizens who were tricked, young girls tricked into sex slavery, getting bashed and threatened,’ he said.
‘They’ve lived in a Syrian refugee camp for several years with children.
‘I welcome you with open arms, you’re welcome back to the country.’
He said media coverage of their return has mostly been negative.
‘It’s very strange how a lot of these journalists are acting like they’re the horrible terrorists,’ he said.
The women and children were previously removed from the al-Roj (above) and al-Hol refugee camps in Syria
‘Yesterday there was an article saying they’ve gone to a McDonald’s and a Kmart and I was like “So what? Just like anyone else can”.’
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb also joined the conversation on Thursday to say the operation was in the hands of the government.
‘I can understand the community concern. We’ll work with the Commonwealth in terms of managing the risks around this,’ she told the Today Show.
‘I also suggested that NSW Police will continue to investigate to see if there has been offences committed previously but this will be an ongoing investigation.
When asked whether NSW Police would be monitoring the women and children, Commissioner Webb said it doesn’t have the authority to.
‘I’ll leave it to the Commonwealth to comment on what they’re doing,’ she said.
Independent MP Dai Le (above) said the Albanese Government has covered the operation in a ‘cloak of secrecy’ that isn’t fair to Syrian refugees already living in Australia
Kyle Sandilands urged people to remember the harsh conditions the women have been living in at the Syrian refugee camps (pictured, al-Hol)
While the return of the women has been fiercely debated, some are angrier the government kept so much of the mission a secret.
Sky News political commentator Peta Credlin slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for not ‘having the guts’ to explain to Australians what the return of the former ISIS members will look like.
‘Whether you agree with the decision or you don’t, it’s dead wrong for the Prime Minister to hide from something as big as this,’ Credlin fumed.
‘No one wants to see children suffer for the crimes of their parents but that can’t excuse the Albanese Government’s total failure even to explain letting jihadi families return to Australia.
‘It’s completely shirked its duty to explain how the safety of a few women who rejected Australia to join terrorist groups abroad trumps the safety of the wider population.
‘They shouldn’t have terrorists or terrorist sympathisers living in a street next to them.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (above) has faced harsh criticism for keeping the operation secret, including how the women and children will be safely reintegrated into Australian society
Outspoken southwest Sydney independent MP Dai Le also called on the government to be honest about how the women and children will be safely reintegrated.
‘It seems like the government is doing all of this under a cloak of secrecy,’ she told Sunrise on Tuesday.
‘It is unfortunate because our community is one of the most multicultural electorates in the whole of Australia.
‘A large proportion of our population are people who have fled the ISIS state and they are very concerned.’
She added many people in her electorate are Syrian refugees and, as a refugee from war torn 1970s Vietnam, she understands why they’re worried about the women’s return.
‘The people fleeing the ISIS regime, they remember the trauma, they remember the atrocity in their country,’ she said.
A total of 13 women and 42 children who were formerly members of ISIS are set to be brought to Australia from Syria (pictured, the al-Roj camp)
‘The fear that the word ISIS brings for these families has brought on the reason why they left in the first place.’
The Albanese Government’s repatriation mission is in stark contrast with the previous Morrison Government’s ban on the return of ISIS supporters.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has maintained his party’s stance and said the return of the women could be a security risk.
‘I do worry about people coming back from the theatre of war, particularly when they’ve been in the circumstance where they’ve been mixing with people who hate our country and hate our way of life,’ Mr Dutton told Sky News last week.
‘The Prime Minister needs to stand up today to explain to the Australian public what measures they’ve got in place. On my collective experience and what I know, I don’t think it’s in our country’s best interest.’
Opposition leader Peter Dutton (above) has said the return of the ISIS brides and children isn’t ‘in our country’s best interests’
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