Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

As I indicated, as the counter-Daesh coalition continues to degrade the remaining elements of the terrorist network in Iraq and Syria, those foreign fighters who have survived the conflict remain a threat to Australia and to our interests. Around 100 Australian foreign fighters who fought for or supported extremist groups are thought to still be in Syria and Iraq and thousands more travelled to the conflict zone from South-East Asia. We have to contend with the prospect of some of those foreign fighters potentially returning to our region. That's why we're continuing to strengthen our counterterrorism cooperation with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and other counterparts in our region. We work closely to identify the routes and alternative locations that might be available to any Australian or South-East Asian terrorist fighters and to establish a range of mechanisms to effectively handle cases of fighters detained in or seeking to depart from the conflict zone.