The political firestorm surrounding the repatriation of Australian ISIS brides escalated dramatically today when One Nation leader Pauline Hanson threw her full weight behind independent MP Robert Gregory, praising his blistering call for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s resignation and accusing the Labor leader of prioritizing political survival and donor interests over national security.
Speaking to a packed press conference outside Parliament House this afternoon, Hanson did not mince words. Standing beside Gregory – whose earlier demand for Albanese to step down had already garnered over 80% public approval in snap polls – she delivered a scathing endorsement:
“Robert Gregory stood up today for real Australians – the ones who live in fear after Bondi, the ones who see their taxes fund the return of people who pledged allegiance to a death cult. Unlike our Prime Minister, who only seems to care about his position, his donors, and his international image. It’s hilarious – truly hilarious – that the leader of a country would put his own citizens in danger just to secure his position and money.
Albo talks about compassion, but where was the compassion for the seven families torn apart at Bondi? Where is it for the veterans sleeping rough while ISIS sympathizers get passports and welfare?”
Hanson’s words, delivered with her trademark blunt force, were met with cheers from a crowd of supporters who had gathered spontaneously after Gregory’s morning speech went viral. The endorsement came less than 24 hours after Gregory accused Albanese of failing to prioritize public safety, pointing to the government’s facilitation of passport renewals and returns for women who had joined Islamic State.
The Prime Minister’s office reacted almost immediately. Within five minutes of Hanson’s press conference ending, Albanese’s legal team issued a formal statement announcing defamation proceedings against both Hanson and Gregory for what they described as “baseless, malicious and reckless defamation designed to incite hatred and undermine democratic institutions.” The Prime Minister himself appeared briefly outside the Lodge to say:
“These are serious, unfounded accusations that cross the line from political debate into character assassination. My government has acted in accordance with international law and with the safety of Australian children as the primary concern. We will defend our reputation and the truth in court if necessary.”
The announcement sent shockwaves through the political class. Legal experts were divided: some argued that calling for resignation and linking policy to the Bondi attack could be protected political speech under implied freedom of political communication, while others warned that specific allegations of personal corruption (“only cares about money and position”) might cross into actionable defamation territory.
But Hanson was ready. Just as the defamation threat began circulating, she uploaded a 47-page dossier to One Nation’s official website and shared the link on X. Titled “Labor’s ISIS Bride Cover-Up: The Documents They Didn’t Want You to See,” the file contained:
Scanned passport application approvals bearing signatures from senior Immigration Department officials appointed under the Albanese government Internal emails between DFAT and Home Affairs showing “expedited processing” directives for 18 identified women and their children ASIO threat assessments from 2023–2025 that were overruled or downgraded in at least seven cases Correspondence confirming that at least four of the returnees were resettled in Victoria with state government assistance for housing and income support
Hanson accompanied the release with a single tweet: “Here is the evidence. Not opinion. Not rumor. Official documents. Labor issued the passports. Labor brought them back. Now Labor wants to sue anyone who tells the truth. See you in court.”
The dossier’s release triggered immediate chaos. Within an hour, #LaborISISCoverUp and #AlboLawsuit were trending number one nationally, while #PaulineDropsBombshell reached global top five. Newsrooms across Australia scrambled to verify the documents; by evening, The Australian, Sky News and even the ABC’s Fact Check unit had confirmed the authenticity of at least 80% of the material, with redactions consistent with national security classifications.
Public reaction was seismic. A second snap poll by Newspoll, conducted between 4 pm and 8 pm, showed Albanese’s approval rating dropping to a new low of 29%, with 67% of respondents believing the repatriation program had been mishandled. Among outer-suburban and regional voters – key battlegrounds – support for One Nation surged 9 points overnight.
The Jewish community, still grieving the Bondi victims, rallied behind Gregory and Hanson. Robert Gregory addressed a candlelight vigil outside the Melbourne synagogue attacked in 2025: “This is not about politics. This is about whether our government values Australian lives. If suing truth-tellers is their response, then we know who is really scared.”
Labor MPs were thrown into disarray. Several backbenchers privately expressed fury at being kept in the dark about the scale of returns. One senior MP told The Sydney Morning Herald on condition of anonymity: “We were told it was just a handful of kids with their mothers under strict monitoring. Now we find out it’s nearly twenty, and passports were fast-tracked. People are going to lose seats over this.”
The Prime Minister cancelled all public appearances for the rest of the week and retreated to the Lodge. His office issued a second statement insisting the repatriations were “limited, closely monitored, and fully compliant with law,” but offered no specific rebuttal to the documents.
As night fell over Canberra, the political landscape had shifted irreversibly. Pauline Hanson – once dismissed as a fringe figure – had transformed into the unlikely champion of national security outrage. Robert Gregory, a quiet backbencher just 48 hours earlier, was now a household name. And Anthony Albanese, who had entered the day defending a humanitarian policy, ended it fighting for his political survival amid credible accusations of negligence and cover-up.
The defamation lawsuit may take years to resolve, but the court of public opinion has already delivered its verdict: trust in Labor’s handling of national security has collapsed. Whether Albanese can recover – or whether this becomes the scandal that ends his prime ministership – remains to be seen. One thing is certain: after today, no one in Canberra will ever look at an ISIS bride passport the same way again.
