Liberal senator breaks with party to urge ‘mercy for the children’ of IS-linked Australian women in Syria
Backbencher Andrew McLachlan describes the 23 children as ‘innocents’ victimised by their parents’ ‘tragic attraction to a horrible ideology’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Liberal senator has called for “mercy” for the 23 Australian children detained in a...
<p>Backbencher Andrew McLachlan describes the 23 children as ‘innocents’ victimised by their parents’ ‘tragic attraction to a horrible ideology’</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>A Liberal senator has called for “mercy” for the 23 Australian children detained in a Syrian camp, as he warned that leaving the group to languish in detention risked making the situation worse for them and the Australian community in the future.</p><p>After the opposition leader, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/02/angus-taylor-islamic-state-syria-comments-ntwnfb">Angus Taylor</a>, this week suggested the children held in al-Roj camp were “Isis sympathisers”, the backbencher Andrew McLachlan again broke from party lines to appeal for compassion and a resolution to their ongoing plight.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/04/liberal-mclachlan-syria-is-australian-women-children-ntwnfb">Continue reading...</a>
Read the full article at:
The Guardian World →