Does Australia stand for the freedom of women? Or for their oppression? As the country confronts the barbarians of the so-called Islamic State, the answer from the national leader should be strong and clear.

The Prime Minister had an ideal opportunity to demonstrate leadership today with a powerful affirmation of the freedom of women.

But, asked whether he thought that women should be banned from wearing burqas, Tony Abbott hedged. He missed the opportunity.

He reverted to the same position he held as head of the opposition, a tribal leader and not a national one.

"I have said before that I find it a fairly confronting form of attire," Abbott told a press conference today.

"Frankly, I wish it was not worn."

When he first used this formula, the world had not heard of IS. It did not know that these barbarians were committed to the indiscriminate butchery of anyone who disagreed with them.

The world did not know that they were about to take over a swath of territory twice the size of Switzerland.

And the world did not know that they operated what the former Egyptian minister for families, Moushira Khattab, has called a "master plan to degrade and demean women".

The savages of IS have imposed on women mass rape, mass sexual slavery, genital mutilation, and a market in Mosul where women are sold for 100,000 Iraqi dinars, or about $90, each.

The barbarians are the worst kind of oppressors. Australia is going to war to defeat them. An Australian prime minister should be a forceful champion of freedom, including the freedom of women in Australia to wear what they choose, whether burqa or bikini.

Abbott did go on to make a statement of principle in favour of freedom: "But we are a free country, we are a free society and it is not the business of government to tell people what they should and shouldn't wear."

Unfortunately, he then hedged again: "It is a little different, obviously, in a situation where peoples' identity is important. My understanding is that in courts, for instance, people may be required to show their face. In certain buildings, people may be required to show their face and I think that is perfectly appropriate."

Why say this? Because he wanted to show sympathy for the two members of his government's backbench, Cory Bernadi and George Christensen, who are campaigning for a burqa ban in Parliament House.

Even though all visitors go through metal detectors. Even though members of the public have never, in the history of the building, been required to have their identities checked. Even though motor registries in western Sydney have perfectly acceptable procedures to check the faces of covered women where necessary, without fuss or offence.

The two backbenchers argue that a ban on burqas is necessary for security purposes. So if they are so concerned about security, where are all their other proposals for better security? They have none.

They are not interested in security. They are only interested in fanning prejudice.

Abbott has implicitly endorsed their dirty, divisive dogwhistle politics to appease them. Instead of winking at their intolerance, a real leader would have shut them down in a moment of crisis.

He would have done well to heed the words of his own Attorney-General, George Brandis, who told the National Press Club on Wednesday that, in the face of a rising risk of terrorism, "there could be no greater error than for Australians to demonise our fellow Islamic citizens".

Australia's social cohesion is at risk. The Prime Minister's responsibility is not to play with it but to protect it.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has appeared to back a ban on the burqa being worn in Parliament House but at the same time said no-one has ever sought to enter the building "so attired".

But that claim appears to have been directly contradicted by one of Mr Abbott's senators who has spearheaded the campaign to have the controversial Islamic garment banned in Parliament.  Liberal senator Cory Bernardi says his intervention was sparked by seeing the face-covering veil being worn inside the building some years ago.

A final decision on a burqa ban in Parliament House could be made within a week, after Speaker Bronwyn Bishop asked ASIO and the federal police for an independent security assessment of the risks or otherwise of full facial coverings.

The Prime Minister said on Wednesday he wished that the burqa wasn't worn at all but said it was the choice of women to do so.  

"Now I've said before I find it a fairly confronting form of attire and frankly I wish it weren't worn," he said. 

"We are free country, we are a free society and it's not the business of government to tell people what they should and shouldn't wear,"

He cautioned against making a "mountain over a molehill" saying there is no record of the burqa ever being worn into the building.

"Has anyone ever sought entry to this building so attired? As far as I'm aware, no," he said. 

"But I just want to stress that this is a secure building and it should be governed by the rules that are appropriate for a secure building and obviously people need to be identifiable in a secure building such as this," he said.

But Senator Bernardi told Fairfax Media his concerns were borne from having seen veiled people inside the building.

 "What prompted my security concerns three years ago was when I did encounter a group of veiled individuals and inquired with security whether they were required to show their face before entering the building," he said. 

"This then led to the extraordinary admission by parliamentary officials that anyone could enter with their face covered even if they were wearing a balaclava, this was a ridiculous position then and in light of the heightened security tensions it appears even more ridiculous now."

Asked about the apparent discrepancy between his own account and the Prime Minister's, Senator Bernardi said Parliament was a big building and not all parliamentarians would see the same visitors.

The newly-created Parliament House security taskforce, which comprises Ms Bishop, Senate president Stephen Parry and representatives of ASIO, the AFP and the departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Finance and Parliament Services met on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Ms Bishop, who chaired the meeting, asked the two security agencies to provide her and Senator Parry with advice on the issue.

If the rules change only  veils that completely cover a person's face would be subject to a ban. The hijab, or head scarf, would not be subject to a ban if one were introduced.

A spokesman for the Speaker told Fairfax Media that it would be at least a week before Ms Bishop received advice back on the issue and made a decision.

At present, anyone entering a private area of Parliament House with a covered face has to uncover their face.

The rule change, if it proceeded, would require people with a covered face who entered a public area to uncover their face when entering the building.

The newly announced Commissioner of the AFP Andrew Colvin refused to say whether or not the burqa should be banned in Parliament House, which has been the subject of a major escalation of security in recent weeks.

"We need to be careful not to make something of an issue that police deal with each and every day in suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne," the incoming Commissioner said.

Mr Abbott's comments follows Fairfax Media's revelations that his most senior adviser, chief of staff Peta Credlin also supports a ban in the building on security grounds.

Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan said Ms Credlin's support for the ban had the potential to undermine Mr Abbott's call for calm over national security. 

She said the campaign to ban the burqa from the building was a "pathetic attempt to whip up division" based on a "concocted problem" with the sole intent of "raising the temperature on an already difficult issue".

She said she had not once seen a burqa in Parliament House since her election in 2013, even when attending Islamic events. 

"The last thing we need to do is go down this backwater, claiming we've got hundreds of people roaming the corridors of Parliament in burqas," Ms MacTiernan said.

Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights chairperson Tasneem Chopra said the burqa debate was a dangerous one because it highlighted differences within the Australian community at the expense of Australian Muslims. 

"The community in general is feeling under siege. There is a constant demarcation between Muslim and Australian as if they can't coexist," she said.

Ms Chopra said the full-facial coverings weren't worn in Australia, and those just exposing a woman's eyes were rare. 

"I am in Canberra now and in Parliament House, I have never seen a woman in a burqa, or a niqab," she said.

The debate about the burqa in Parliament House comes amid a controversial push from PUP senator Jacqui Lambie for a widespread ban on the burqa in public, which has been backed by Coalition backbenchers Cory Bernardi and George Christensen.  

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who does not support a burqa ban in Parliament House, called on Mr Abbott on Wednesday to quieten the voices within his party "out there pushing socially divisive arguments".

"He should say that the Liberal government he leads will conduct itself in a bipartisan matter along with Labor to promote social cohesion."

Speaking at the National Press Club, Attorney-General George Brandis said: "I have no concerns with Muslims wearing the burqa and don't have a preference either way because frankly it's none of my business."

Latika Bourke, James Massola, with Deborah Gough

smh.com.au