Live: Minister says constitution limits ability to block return of IS-linked doctor

live Federal politics live: Minister says constitution limits ability to block return of IS-linked doctor Environment Minister Murray Watt says there are constitutional limits on what the government can do to prevent the return of an Islamic State-linked doctor. Follow all the updates in our live blog. Submit a comment or question Live updates Wed 22 Jul 2026 at 7:17am Murray Watt says constitution limits ability for govt to block return of ISIS-linked doctor Murray Watt says the government won't be providing assistance to an Australian doctor with links to Islamic State jailed in an Iraqi prison. The Australian reports Tareq Kamleh, who joined Islamic State, is one of 13 Australian men imprisoned in an Iraqi jail and hoping to leave. Speaking to Channel Nine, the environment minister says there are constitutional limits on what the government can do to prevent citizens from returning home. "We've made clear for some time now that we won't be providing any assistance as a government to anyone whose made the absolutely awful decision to join a foreign terrorist organisation," Watt says. Asked if Kamleh will be allowed to return, Watt says, "That remains to be seen." "We won't be providing assistance, just as we haven't provided assistance to others to come back." Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O'Brien says the government needs to explain how they'll prevent former Islamic State fighters from returning. "The government can't just say, 'Oh, we're not going to help them'. What are you actually going to proactively do to protect the Australian people?" he says. Wed 22 Jul 2026 at 7:10am Good morning 👋 Hello and a very warm welcome to our federal politics blog! It's great to have you join us here early this Wednesday morning. I'm Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news. Labor's National Conference is starting in Adelaide tomorrow and it seems gambling reform is shaping up as one of the hot button issues. Members are pushing for a stronger national regulator to oversee the industry, just weeks after the government introduced changes to gambling advertisements laws to federal parliament. Let's get into the day and see what happens! Loading