No foreign fighters had welfare payments cancelled under terror laws passed last year because none were found to be claiming welfare, according to answers provided to a senate committee.
Last June the Daily Telegraph reported that the “welfare noose” was tightening around Australian jihadi fighters because the prime minister had sought “urgent advice” about the welfare status of up to 150 Australians fighting in Iraq and Syria.
In February, ahead of Tony Abbott’s national security statement, the same paper reported that “almost all of the wannabe terrorists who have snuck out of Australia to join jihadist armies in Iraq and Syria were on the dole or some form of welfare payment” and that “most had continued to collect payments from Australian taxpayers while training with Islamic State to become terrorists intent on wanting to kill Australians.”
Writing in the paper the same day, the prime minister said he was “appalled” that the majority of those Australians joining terror groups had benefited from the welfare system. The government vowed to cancel welfare payments under the counter terrorism laws it had passed late last year.
On 23 February, asked about reports that no foreign fighters had actually had their welfare payments cancelled, Abbott told parliament: “This is not correct. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, all of the foreign fighters who are currently overseas have had any welfare payments that they were receiving well and truly cancelled … the last thing we want to see is is Australian taxpayers funding terrorism.”
But in an answer provided this week to questions that were asked in a senate estimates hearing the day after the prime minister’s answer to parliament on 24 February, the attorney general’s department said that as of 24 February, “it was established that no individual was in receipt of any welfare benefit payments and it was therefore unnecessary to use the welfare cancellation on security grounds provisions”.
The new information about the welfare crackdown comes as the government launches another crackdown, this time stripping citizenship rights from dual Australian citizens fighting overseas, and threatening to strip citizenship from Australians who have the possibility of claiming citizenship of another country.
The latter proposition was left open for discussion after a cabinet split over concerns it could leave people stateless, contrary to Australia’s international obligations. Abbott said between 40 or 50 of the 100 Australians fighting in Syria and Iraq were thought to be dual nationals.
Under last year’s Counter-terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Act, the minister for foreign affairs or the minister for immigration can notify the attorney general when a foreign fighter has their passport or visa cancelled on security grounds. The attorney general was then able to write to the secretary of the Department of Social Services to discover whether the foreign fighter had received any government benefits, and the minister for social services could cancel the benefit.
But as separate answers provided by the attorney general’s department point out social security payments are subject to strict “portability limitations” and very seldom paid to people overseas.
“Most working age social security payments are only payable outside Australia for brief temporary absences or in limited circumstances where the travel has been approved before departure from Australia”, the answer said, adding that “the participation requirements of working age payment receipts restricts travel overseas.”
