Secret handwritten letters PROVE Australia helped ISIS brides - but Penny Wong STILL denies it in fiery showdown

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Handwritten notes by the Home Affairs secretary have emerged that appear to poke holes in the Albanese government's narrative that it provided no help to ISIS brides who returned to Australia.

The notes were made public after Senators requested them during Senate Estimates this week, where Penny Wong continued to deny Labor assisted the cohort of two women and four children, related to ISIS terrorists, to return to the country this year.

The notes were originally written in June by the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Stephanie Foster, who attended a meeting in which the issue was discussed. They are not a direct transcript but provide a summary of what was talked about.

The meeting was between Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Save the Children representatives, alongside long-time campaigner Kamalle Dabboussy - father of an Australian woman coerced into joining ISIS and later repatriated with her children.

The notes state that 'TB' advised that 'public pressure' would make any repatriation fraught, but advised officials not to 'rule it out'. 

'Balance responsibilities… success of first cohort will be great help after we've got them home,' another line reads. 

Internal emails sent after the confidential meeting have also been revealed.

'Government doesn't have a plan to get people out of the camps at this time... the thinking is if people are able to get out, there are no blockages to them returning,' Burke said, according to one email. 

Penny Wong (pictured) continued to deny that the government aided ISIS brides to return

Handwritten notes by Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster about the ISIS brides 

Burke reportedly emphasised that the government 'doesn't want to be perceived to have been paying to have them smuggled out' and thanked advocates for keeping their repatriation effort out of the media.

The email further alleged Burke asked a public servant to leave the room to allow for a private discussion with Dabboussy. 

'Kamalle asked to speak frankly… and provided an undertaking that anything discussed would not be shared unless agreed to by the minister. At this stage, I was asked to leave by the minister to enable a frank discussion to take place.'

Despite these revelations, Foreign Minister Penny Wong vigorously denied that the government had repatriated ISIS brides when questioned during Senate Estimates on Thursday.

Wong acknowledged the September 26 arrival of the two women and four children who escaped Syria on their own and were detained in Lebanon, before being issued Australian passports after undergoing DNA and security checks.

Home Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade appeared to be aware of the plan from as early as June 6, with Burke's office updated again on September 25 - the day before the arrival of the group - and once again on September 29.

'These are matters for Home Affairs, not for me personally, not for this portfolio,' Wong said. 

Pressed by Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson on whether more ISIS brides were returning, Wong deflected. 

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have both denied the government provided help for the ISIS brides to return to the country

Emails claim Burke met Kamalle Dabboussy (pictured) the father of a repatriated ISIS bride 

'Minister, you are the Foreign Minister of this country. I'm asking if you know whether any other ISIS brides or their children are back in Australia or en route.'

'These are matters for Home Affairs and security agencies. I refer you to their evidence,' Wong replied.

Wong also noted that repatriations had occurred under the previous Morrison government.

'One, your own government recognised that people would return sporadically. Two, we are not repatriating any individuals from Syrian IDP camps. Three, security agencies have assured Australian safety and ongoing monitoring,' she said. 

Henderson cited media reports claiming two groups had returned, something Wong flatly denied.

'Senator, you're drawing your lines of questioning from media reporting, which contains inaccuracies, including claims that two groups returned,' Wong said.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley on Thursday accused the Albanese government of misleading Australians about its dealings with aid agency Save the Children and its role in the return of ISIS brides.

Ley asked whether a covert agreement had been struck between Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and the advocacy group to facilitate the return of Australians stranded in northern Syria after joining the caliphate.

Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson (pictured) pushed Wong on the issue on Thursday

Foreign women and children, living in Syria's al-Hol camp, which houses relatives of Islamic State  members, are pictured on March 28, 2019

'Were secret deals being done between the minister and a third party, in a meeting with no departmental note-taker present? These aren't people returning from a holiday where they got lost overseas. This is a national security issue,' Ley told reporters.

'These are members of a death cult which had at its heart the destruction of the Australian way of life. Tony Burke needs to front up today and answer these questions.'

Daily Mail approached the Department of Home Affairs for comment.