The proposal of a family of asylum seekers to remain in Australia is expected to be resolved imminently, the prime minister has confirmed.
Anthony Albanese said Acting Home Secretary Jim Chalmers would make a statement on Friday about the Tamil Murugappan family, who have been in a long legal battle to return home to the regional town of Biloela in Queensland.
The statement will be consistent with the view that Australia can have strong borders without being weak for humanity, Albanese said.
Camera iconThe Murugappan family. Credit: AAP
“This is a family that was welcomed and was part of the Biloela community and, at a cost of many millions of dollars, has been treated in a way that is not appropriate with Australian values,” he said on Friday. the ABC AM radio.
“The community wants this family to return to Biloela and that would be a totally appropriate outcome.”
The family of four has been living in Perth for the past few months, following the medical evacuation of Christmas Island in 2021 from their four-year-old daughter Tharnicca.
Camera icon “Substantial progress has been made” on the Murugappan family’s return to Biloela, Labor says. Credit: AAP
The Murugappans, who fled Sri Lanka by boat during a protracted ethnic conflict against the Tamil minority, received temporary protection visas in Australia, but authorities removed them from Biloela’s roots in March 2018 and collated them. located in a Melbourne detention center.
They were then arrested on Christmas Island in August 2019.