Firestorm erupts as Katherine Deves asks if 'ISIS brides' are on her flight to Sydney - as Immigration Minister Tony Burke explodes with personal attack
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- Tony Burke launches personal attack
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A high-profile former political candidate has suggested she may have witnessed a group of potential 'ISIS brides' being resettled to Australia on a Thai Airways flight to Sydney - sparking a furious denial from the Albanese government.
Katherine Deves, a lawyer and one-time Liberal candidate for Warringah, was flying home to Sydney on Thai Airways flight THA471 on January 21 when she noticed a group of women boarding in Bangkok, dressed in niqabs and hijabs.
In a viral video, Ms Deves said the women - who were accompanied by children - were all wearing International Rescue Committee lanyards and Australian government ID that said the words 'migration status' and listed their nationality as XXA.
The nationality code XXA is used to identify a person who is officially designated as stateless under the 1954 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.
'Are these the ISIS brides?' she asked, referring to efforts to repatriate Australian citizens who have been stranded in refugee camps in the Middle East since the fall of Islamic State.
'Were they people being brought in from Syria or Gaza? I don't know, but I did see these people come in.'
Ms Deves' video sparked a furious response from the government - but only days later, following questions from the Daily Mail.
Immigration Minister Tony Burke flatly said in a statement: 'Katherine Deves is wrong. Again'.
An image shared by Deves from her flight, which has since gone viral on social media
Images shared by Deves showing the stateless nationality ID and IRC logo on lanyards being worn by the women
Official sources told the Mail the group was part of the Rohingya ethnic minority group from Myanmar's Rakhine State.
The Rohingya have been forced to flee the South East Asian country after the Myanmar military launched brutal, systematic attacks on their villages, carrying out mass killings, and using sexual violence as a weapon, triggering a mass exodus.
A Home Affairs spokesperson said: 'Australia's Humanitarian Program accepts a range of individuals assessed as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, including stateless individuals,' a Home Affairs spokesperson said.
'The government's Humanitarian Program contributes to regional stability and ensures we benefit from the significant contributions of humanitarian entrants to Australian society.'
The spokesperson also confirmed that security checks had been completed on all individuals.
'The Department screens all applications to determine if they meet security and character requirements,' they said.
'Checks against these requirements may be repeated at any time along a person's journey to Australia, while they hold a visa outside Australia, or after they arrive in Australia.'
However, Ms Deves called on the government to be transparent about who they were resettling in Australia.
Katherine Deves (pictured) is a former Liberal candidate who was on the Thai Airways flight
'It is typical of this government's secrecy that the Minister for Immigration's reply is a false ad hominem attack rather than a substantive response as to who these people are,' she told Daily Mail.
'And if these are not the ISIS brides, then where are the ISIS brides? The Australian people deserve to know.'
Deves' comments come as the Albanese government continues to face scrutiny over its approach to repatriating ISIS-affiliated families.
The government maintains it has not directly assisted with any such operations, even after a high-profile group returned in 2025.
However, handwritten notes from Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster, released following a Senate request, cast doubt on the government's claims late last year.
The notes summarised a meeting attended by Foster, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, representatives from Save the Children, and advocate Kamalle Dabboussy, whose daughter was coerced into joining ISIS and later repatriated with her children.
Tony Burke (pictured) rubbished the claim saying 'Katherine Deves is wrong. Again'
Though not a verbatim transcript, the notes indicated that Burke warned 'public pressure' would make repatriations 'fraught', but advised officials not to 'rule it out'.
Another entry read: 'Balance responsibilities… success of first cohort will be great help after we've got them home.'
Daily Mail understands the government has since reiterated its position that it is not directly assisting with the repatriation of ISIS brides.
