The US has offered to facilitate the rescue and return of Australian families of IS fighters from Syria, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison remains determined to take no action.
Mr Morrison previously claimed his reason for inaction to be that he does not believe Australian officials should be placed in danger to rescue women and children from conflict zones.
He was asked on Monday what his reason could be now, to reject the US offer.
He answered, “I don’t engage in hypotheticals on national security issues.”
“National security issues are very serious and you have to deal with the cases as they present - not hypotheticals - but as they present in reality and that’s how we’ll deal with each and every one of them.”