Tamil family fighting deportation to Sri Lanka win temporary reprieve in Federal Court
Peter Dutton’s claims the Tamil family were not in detention but instead living close by have been blasted as a “complete lie” by mum Priya.
A Tamil family will remain in legal limbo on Christmas Island for the foreseeable future, with their deportation case now hinging on an upcoming court battle.
On Thursday afternoon, shortly before an order preventing their forcible removal to Sri Lanka expired, Federal Court judge Mordy Bromberg announced the family had a legal case that needed to be decided at trial.
The family, whose case rests on their two-year-old daughter and her right to apply for a protection visa, now cannot be deported by the Australian government until the matter is decided through the court system.
A date has not yet been set for their case to be heard.
Priya and Nades Murugappanand and their daughters Tharunicaa, two, and Kopika, four, remains in detention on Christmas Island after the government’s plans to return the family to Sri Lanka were put on hold by a previous injunction.
Speaking with Sky News through an interpreter, Priya lashed out at Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s claim the family was “not in detention” but living close by the centre near a school and swimming pool.
She blasted this claim as a “complete lie”.
“There is a school and swimming pool nearby but we are kept inside the detention centre. We can’t go outside this compound and we are surrounded by Serco guards,” Priya told the news channel.
“We can’t access the swimming pool, we can’t access anything. We don’t have proper toilets inside this compound. You can’t even see grass nearby. It is a very old building and is isolated from the rest of the community.”
She also responded to Mr Dutton’s claim that she and her husband had their children as “anchor babies” to allow them to stay in the country.
She said this was not the case and that she had always dreamt of having a family but her experiences in her homeland stopped her from doing that.
“When I came here I found someone I loved and had children. I never expected the Australian government not to give me a protection visa,” she said.
“All we want now is for our children to live in a safe environment. Sri Lanka is not a safe place for us to go back to.”
Priya said it was not safe for her and her husband to return to Sri Lanka with their family.
“We were mentally and physically tortured by the Sri Lankan government. We came here to find safety. We got married here and had children and we thought they would have a safer future here,” she said.
“All we want is for the Australian government to let us live here safely. We aren’t asking for anything else and we will work very hard to look after ourselves.”
The court was earlier told Tharunicaa was legally entitled to make a visa application after “the bar was lifted” in a period between July and August 2017, with the two-year-old meeting the criteria allowing her to her to apply for a protection visa.
Under the Migration Act, Tharunicaa has been deemed an “unauthorised maritime arrival” and, as a child of an asylum seeker arriving in Australia by boat, cannot apply for a visa.
Barrister Angel Aleksov argued that Australian-born Tharunicaa did have a right to apply for a visa, that her matter is “still in train” and the government has no power to deport her to Sri Lanka with her family.
“It is a very serious question about whether my client has been lawfully detained,” he said.
RELATED: Peter Dutton lashes out at Tamil parents for “dragging” kids through court appeals
Mr Aleksov argued the minister should be required, and in fact had a duty, to consider Tharunicaa’s claim, with the only issue being whether she was “disqualified” under immigration legislation.
“It’s accepted that if the applicant has made a valid application for a visa, there is not power to remove her until it is determined,” Justice Mordy Bromberg said.
“This all turns on whether there was a power to remove … because there was a statutory process still in place”.
The Prime Minister must personally intervene in this Biloela family case. It is sickening the Government is claiming they aren't legitimate refugees. Their two children were born in Australia!!! #Biloela #hometobilo
— Alan Jones (@AlanJones) August 31, 2019
Mr Aleksov also argued if the family was deported, it was a “literally life or death” situation, but conceded there was no evidence before the court about their risk of serious harm back in Sri Lanka.
The family had settled in the Queensland township of Biloela before being taken into detention, with Tharunicaa’s parents and sister already refused refugee status in Australia.
Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Aran Mylvaganam said he had spoken to Priya and Nades from Christmas Island on Tuesday, when they relayed their jail-like conditions, surrounded by guards.
“The circle of guards have been ordered by Australian Border Force to capture every moment of their stay there on video,” he told AAP on Wednesday.
“It is creating some sort of fear.”
