Orderly immigration matters

The Albanese government’s decision to grant permanent residency to Biloela’s high-profile Nadesalingam family from Sri Lanka in a blaze of publicity was always going to draw out other worthy applicants seeking the same favourable treatment. It is understandable that Adelaide electrician Mark Green, his wife Kelly and their daughter Rebecca, who were due to leave for Scotland on Wednesday night, have appealed to Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to be allowed to stay, citing the Nadesalingams as a precedent. Mr Giles, in response to a request from South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, has given the Greens a month’s extension on their deportation order for their lawyer’s submission to be considered.

Under the Migration Act, ministers have the power to overturn unfavourable decisions by bureaucrats if they consider it is in the public interest to do so. Such decisions have been made in the past – without surrounding publicity such as a prime minister personally welcoming the people concerned, as Anthony Albanese did for the Nadesalingams with plenty of hugs. For four years the Sri Lankans, who were found not to be refugees, were a cause celebre on social media, especially among the left.

The Greens have a good story to tell. They came to Australia a decade ago when Mr Green was headhunted by the solar industry. He has worked and paid taxes ever since, apart from a few brief periods when the companies employing him went out of business. He has never sought or received assistance from Australian taxpayers. His skills as a qualified electrician are in strong demand. Ms Green works for a successful baker. Rebecca wants to go to university and work in aged care. The family is facing deportation because a former employer bungled paperwork. On seven occasions, Mr Green has had to pay $4000 to renew his 457 visa, plus a ­further $5000 to immigration ­lawyers to handle his application. As non-citizens, the Greens paid their daughter’s way through the state education system. The SA community is behind them. The family’s lawyers and the department may find a way through the maze. If not, the family should have a strong case under the skilled migration program, even if it meant returning to Scotland, where they no longer have strong connections or a home, and applying from overseas.

SA Best MLC Frank Pangallo says there should be no difference between the treatment of the Nadesalingams and the Greens. Many will see that as fair. But that view also underlines the importance of orderly immigration programs and governments sticking to the rules, regardless of popular pleading.

Following the Biloela case, expect others to gain traction as potential exceptions to the rules. Australia has been built largely on immigration. And the system needs a bit of heart and common sense. But millions more people want to make this nation their own than can be accepted. A chaotic immigration system in which populist sentiment and political pointscoring prevail is no way to maintain integrity in deciding who comes and stays.