Tamil Family Wins deportation Battle in Federal Court

Tamil Family Wins deportation Battle in Federal Court

A young Tamil girl whose family detained on Christmas Island is fighting to stay in Australia has had a win in court after it was ruled she was not given procedural fairness in making a visa application.

Priya and Nades Murugappan and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa, aged four and two, have spent more than a year on Christmas Island after an order halted their deportation to Sri Lanka.

After almost two months of deliberation , federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky on Friday (17)  ruled Immigration Minister David Coleman had lifted the bar to consider a visa application for two-year-old Tharunicaa in May last year.

While the court proceedings usually attract a throng of protesters in support of the family, court order delivered to the family’s lawyers over the phone due to social distancing restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

He had ordered a full departmental briefing on handling the family's case, including the option that he exercises a power to allow them to apply for protection visas.

That prompted an assessment by an immigration department official in August, which found they were not likely to engage Australia’s protection obligations.

They were then put on a plane to be returned to Sri Lanka, which was stopped at the last minute by the court order, forcing the plane to land in Darwin. 

They were then transferred to Christmas Island and have remained there ever since. They will remain there until a final decision is made.

“The applicant was not notified that the August 2019 assessment was being conducted and was not invited to comment in relation to any aspect of the assessment,” Justice Moshinsky said.

As a result, the young girl was denied procedural fairness, he ruled.

Lawyers for each side must now tell the Federal Court what should happen next.    

Priya and Nades fear persecution if they are returned to Sri Lanka. 

Residents of the Queensland town of Biloela, where the family had been living before being put in detention, have led a desperate battle to keep them in Australia

Information courtesy AAP