Anna Caldwell: Government must explain why ISIS brides were located in Western Sydney

The federal government’s smug snubbing of Western Sydney over the arrival of ISIS brides is emblematic of a hideously elitist approach to politics, writes Anna Caldwell.

Friday is the day Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil will finally front up to Western Sydney and answer questions about her decision to dump returned ISIS brides in these suburbs.

This good old-fashioned show-up-and-take-questions approach comes after various iterations of stonewalling, dilly-dallying and then the ultimate avoidance measure — proposing a Zoom meeting.

And, as we wrote in Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph editorial, Friday’s visit is really too little, too late.

The damage has been done. The ISIS brides and children have already been released into the community, but the real betrayal is that the government couldn’t even bring itself to face the citizens living in the same neighbourhood.

Much has been written and debated about the decision to repatriate these ISIS wives and kids.

But there’s another issue at play here, crudely underlined by the smug snubbing of Western Sydney by our country’s leaders — the idea that everyday people don’t deserve the time to have national decisions explained to them.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil. Picture: Pradeep Pathirana

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone. Picture: Channel 10

Friday’s planned (here’s hoping she doesn’t pull the pin) visit comes after weeks of sustained pressure and downright pleading from local community representatives.

The optics of this decision have been bad from the outset.

While Sydney took the resettlement burden, Melbourne was spared. It didn’t take political geniuses to suggest this looked like a little cosy Labor deal to help Dan Andrews’ re-election bid.

Of course Canberra has denied this. But it hasn’t been able to adequately explain why women with ties to Western Sydney were brought home first.

Adding insult to injury, O’Neil has, until now, refused to explain to local refugee groups what is being done to reintegrate the women and children back into Australian society.

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone wrote to the PM on November 8. He has repeatedly expressed he doesn’t want Western Sydney to be a “dumping ground”.

His view is that sending ISIS brides to Fairfield is like putting “Hitler’s wife in a Jewish town”. He says this because of the number of people living in his community who have actually fled the reign of terror by ISIS.

Australian women and children at the Al-Hawl camp in northeast Syria. Picture: Supplied

Carbone, who is well practised in stinging one-liners, added this zinger in an interview with Karl Stefanovic on Thursday: “They tried to dump Kristina Keneally here not long ago and we sent her back.”

He’s able to make that type of “joke” because Labor has laid out the framework by showing a callous disregard for Western Sydney.

In the midst of all the pleading for some consolation over the ISIS arrivals, Labor had the hide to schedule a fundraiser in the heart of these suburbs where they were dodging questions — a $150-a-head cash grab on the border of Liverpool and Fairfield.

The message to the local community? We don’t have time to hear your concerns but we’ll make time to take your money, thanks.

O’Neil has repeatedly and consistently pointed to national security advice when explaining the decision and methods in repatriating the ISIS brides. But this is cold comfort to the Assyrian communities who were persecuted by ISIS.

Citing “national security advice” and not actually meeting residents face-to-face is disconnected at best but, at worst, a hideously elitist approach to politics.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ re-election campaign has benefited from the ISIS brides going to Western Sydney …

… but it’s put NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns in an awkward position, with his own election looming.

There is a clear thread between the ideological mindset that allows for this type of snubbing and dropping outsider candidates Kristina Keneally and now MP Andrew Charlton into the region.

The message to Western Sydney is ‘we know best, you don’t need to know and don’t ask any questions (unless it’s about buying tickets to our fundraiser)’.

All this puts NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns in a deeply unenviable and highly exposed position.

Minns, in fact, has a decent team of Western Sydney MPs who are connected to their communities.

But these actions by the federal government make the lot of them look ignorant of the region.

Minns stuck his neck out when The Daily Telegraph revealed the $150-a-head fundraiser in Warwick Farm had been booked, urging the PM to visit local leaders.

“I always believe that community leaders and those who are responsible in leadership positions should be consulted about decisions like this,” he said.

“I would always be on the side of consulting local members, particularly about issues like this, because we’ve all got a role to play in explaining government decisions.”

After O’Neil’s bungled attempt to schedule a “Zoom consultation” last week, it’s hard not to look at Friday’s meeting as a futile way to get the matter off the table before next week’s fundraiser.

But, if she shows up, let’s hope it’s a worthwhile consultative discussion. The people of Western Sydney deserve that.