MEDIA RELEASE
29 October 2026
Federal Member for Fisher and Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS), Andrew Wallace MP, has demanded answers from the Albanese Government after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed in Question Time on Thursday that his department did not seek a continuing detention order for convicted ISIS terrorist Isaac El Matari, who is set to walk free from jail this Sunday.
Mr Wallace questioned the Minister over the Government’s failure to pursue an order that could have kept the self-declared ISIS commander behind bars.
El Matari was convicted of serious terrorism offences in 2021, including plotting to establish an ISIS stronghold in the Blue Mountains and planning attacks against Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral and the United States Embassy.
El Matari is also a known associate of Naveed Akram, the surviving alleged perpetrator of the horrific Bondi Hanukkah terrorist attack.
In his response, Minister Burke acknowledged the seriousness of El Matari’s offending, noting that offences carrying maximum penalties of life imprisonment had resulted in an aggregate sentence of seven years and four months, with a non-parole period of five years and six months.
“The most challenge-proof way to keep the community safe is for someone like that to be in prison,” Minister Burke told Parliament.
Mr Wallace agreed with the Minister’s assessment but questioned why the Government had not pursued every lawful avenue to keep El Matari behind bars.
“Tony Burke has acknowledged that keeping dangerous terrorists like El Matari behind bars is the strongest way to protect Australians. I couldn’t agree more. So why hasn’t his Government done everything possible to keep him there?” Mr Wallace said.
“The Minister says the legal threshold for continuing detention is high, but that doesn’t explain why Home Affairs didn’t even make an application to the Court.
“Given El Matari’s serious terrorism convictions, his reported links to the alleged Bondi terrorist and the Minister’s own concerns about his sentence, surely the Government should have made every reasonable effort to keep him detained.
“Instead, despite knowing his release date well in advance, the AFP only applied for an interim control order in September, which was granted today, just days before his expected release.
“Why wasn’t a continuing detention order pursued months ago? The Australian community deserves to know.”
Minister Burke confirmed that the Federal Court had granted the AFP’s interim control order on Thursday, allowing restrictions to be placed on El Matari following his release.
Mr Wallace welcomed the AFP’s efforts but said the Government needed to explain why continued detention had not been pursued.
“I commend the AFP for taking steps to protect Australians, but a control order is not the same as keeping a convicted terrorist behind bars.
“If the Government believes the legal threshold for continuing detention cannot be met, it must explain why. And if the laws aren’t strong enough to protect Australians from dangerous convicted terrorists, then Parliament needs to examine whether they should be strengthened.
“As Deputy Chair of the PJCIS, I understand these decisions must be based on evidence and expert security assessments, but Australians are entitled to expect their Government to exhaust every lawful and appropriate measure to protect them.
“The first responsibility of any government is to keep Australians safe. That responsibility cannot be compromised or abrogated.
“Minister Burke’s response today has raised more questions than it has answered.
“The Albanese Government must explain why a continuing detention application was not pursued and what safeguards will be in place when El Matari is released.
“When it comes to national security, Australians deserve more than assurances. They deserve answers, accountability and action.”
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au