Pauline Hanson extends olive branch to Angus Taylor in challenge to 'unite' and block suspected Aussie ISIS fighters from returning home

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:17, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 00:22, 24 July 2026 One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has offered to work with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor to block Australian men with suspected links to ISIS from returning home. Thirteen men allegedly linked to Islamic State are currently detained in Iraq, hoping to be released from custody and to return to Australia, including Perth-born doctor Tareq Kamleh.  The Albanese government said it has provided no assistance to the men but conceded it had restricted powers in stopping them from returning. Hanson vowed to work with the Coalition to pass new counter-terrorism laws in a letter to Taylor on Friday morning.  She wants the new laws passed 'before the gates of that Baghdad prison open'. 'This Labor government is doing everything it can to enable these people to return, while telling the Australian people it is powerless to stop them,' the letter says, according to The Daily Telegraph. 'One Nation will vote with the Coalition, in both chambers, for legislation that strengthens Australia's counter-terrorism laws to the fullest extent permitted by the Constitution.' Pauline Hanson said she wanted to work with the Coalition to pass tougher laws that would prevent the return of 13 Australian men with suspected links to ISIS  Perth-born doctor and former ISIS poster boy Tareq Kamleh is one of 13 Australian men detained in Iraq who want to return to Australia  Hanson has called for stricter laws on temporary exclusion orders, terrorism offences, bail, citizenship and passports. 'We will support every lawful measure necessary to protect Australians from those who voluntarily joined terrorist organisations overseas,' her letter said. The One Nation leader said political differences should be put aside 'because the safety of Australians matters more'.  'You said this government rolled the welcome mat out for Islamic State terrorists and that we need to shut the door to people who are going to bring hate and violence to our shores,' she said. 'I agree with you. This letter asks whether you meant it.' The plea comes after Taylor recently ruled out working with One Nation in the future, describing the party as a 'column of smoke' that would only offer 'an eternity of pain' for Australians. 'One Nation claims to offer a way out of our national malaise. In reality, they would only make things worse,' he said in a Sydney Institute address earlier this month. 'Long on rhetoric but short on substance, One Nation's offering is a random grab bag of poorly defined, contradictory and constantly changing positions that leave no clear sense of who they are or what they stand for.'  Hanson urged Coalition leader Angus Taylor to put their differences aside On Friday morning, Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume said One Nation's support would not be enough to pass the bill, which would require the backing of crossbenchers for a majority. 'The problem here, of course, is that it's not One Nation's votes that we need to pass this legislation,' she told Channel Seven.  'And Pauline [Hanson] should know that after 30 years in politics, we simply don't have the numbers. 'Even with One Nation, it's Labor's votes that we need to make sure that we can shut the door on ISIS terrorists, sympathisers coming back to our shores.' A group of about 13 Australian nationals have been living in cramped, dangerous prison conditions in Baghdad, Iraq, since Islamic State fell in 2019. It was confirmed earlier in July that they will be questioned by US officials and Iraqi authorities about whether they were involved with the terrorist group. The interrogations could result in some members of the group being released, raising questions about where they would go next and whether they would return to Australia.  'These men certainly will not be getting any assistance from the government to try to come back home,' Health Minister Mark Butler said on July 10. 'And if they do cross our borders, they'll be met with the full force of the law, including the possibility of charges being laid, as has happened to the women.' Butler said there are strict constitutional limits on what the government can do to stop citizens returning to Australia.