Biloela girl Tharnicaa in Perth hospital with pneumonia

Three-year-old Tharnicaa was flown to Perth on Monday amid fears she was suffering from septicaemia.

The youngest daughter of the ‘Biloela family’, Tharnicaa, was medically evacuated to Perth after being hospitalised on Christmas Island. Kopika, her sister, comforts her with a kiss. Supplied: Change.org

The Biloela Tamil family could be resettled in either the United States or New Zealand as their youngest daughter fights pneumonia in a Perth hospital.

Tharnicaa, three-year-old Australian-born daughter of Kokilapathmapriy ‘Priya’ Nadarasagirl and Nadesalingam Murugappan, was flown on a medevac flight from Christmas Island to Perth on Monday after suffering a medical emergency.

Doctors on Tuesday confirmed that Tharnicaa had pneumonia, which had in turn led to a blood infection. She is in a stable condition and is receiving antibiotics intravenously.

The incident prompted candlelight vigils for the girl on Tuesday night both outside the Perth Children’s Hospital, where she is receiving treatment, and at the Sydney Town Hall and has revived calls for home affairs minister Karen Andrews to allow the family to remain in Australia.

Ms Andrews said that while a legal challenge over the family’s deportation was still on foot, the government was working to find another home for them.

“We are going through the process now of investigating a range of resettlement options in relation to a number of different circumstances here in Australia,” Ms Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.

“I can’t make public commentary on that at the moment because I don’t want to disrupt those negotiations.”

Foreign minister Marise Payne flagged that the family was likely to move to another country.

“I understand that there are two options that are being looked at,” she told Sydney radio station 2GB. “I understand the United States is the first of those and that New Zealand is also an option.”

Advocates for the family have accused authorities of failing to act sooner to treat Tharnicaa’s illness.

A statement from Change.org said the girl had gone more than ten days without having her pneumonia treated.

Family friend Angela Fredericks said she was still concerned for the little girl’s wellbeing.

“A three-year-old girl should not be developing pneumonia,” Ms Fredericks said.

“Priya and Nades have been telling detention centre staff since 2019 that the Christmas Island facilities are not suitable. Now, Tharni has developed pneumonia. To make matters worse, the condition was left untreated as they begged for proper medical care.”

The Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force issued a statement disputing the claims.

The department said Tharnicaa had been receiving medical treatment and daily monitoring on Christmas Island, and was flown to Perth as soon as medical staff advised that she required treatment in WA.

“The Australian Border Force strongly denies any allegations of inaction or mistreatment of individuals in its care,” the department said.

“The Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force are committed to the welfare of the detainees within Australia’s Immigration Detention network. Healthcare services for detainees on Christmas Island are broadly comparable with those available within the Australian community under the Australian public health system.”

Ms Nadarasa and her husband are failed asylum-seekers who arrived separately in Australia by boat during the sustained wave of more than 50,000 arrivals under the last Labor government.

They each made Australian waters before Kevin Rudd’s declaration in 2013 that all new arrivals would never be settled in Australia.

The couple met, married and had their two children while living in the community as their claims for protection visas were being assessed and appealed. The girls inherited their parents’ immigration status.

The Tamil couple and their daughters have been the only detainees of a fenced camp near the Christmas Island rubbish tip since August 2019.