Reply from Senator Kenneally re the Murugappan family

 

From: Keneally, Kristina (Senator) <Senator.Keneally@aph.gov.au>

Sent: Friday, September 10, 

Subject: Thank you for emailing me about the Biloela family

 

Good morning

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the ‘Biloela family’ - Priya, Nades and their two Australian-born daughters, Kopika and Tharunicaa Murugappan. 

 

I apologise for the time it has taken me to get back to you.

 

As you would be aware, for a long time I have been advocating that the Murugappan family be allowed to go home to Biloela, a town that loves them and wants them back.  In fact, this has been Labor’s position for some time.

 

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has asked questions in the House of Representatives about the family’s circumstances and urged the Morrison Government to allow them to return to Biloela. 

 

I was very fortunate to travel to Christmas Island earlier this year to meet this lovely family. But, I was saddened to see effect of detention on Kopika and Tharunicaa.  

 

These two Australian-born children have now spent most of their lives living in detention, all while Mr Morrison has been claiming that he “got all children out of detention here in Australia” – a claim that is simply untrue.  

 

Labor welcomes the recent decision from Minister for Immigration, Alex Hawke, to personally intervene in the family’s case, granting bridging visas for Nades, Priya and Kopika.  

 

Importantly, the Minister’s decision means Nades, Priya and Kopika are no longer in detention and are free to work, access services and support, and travel without significant restriction.   

 

It is disappointing that the Minister declined to use his personal discretionary power to grant a bridging visa to Tharunicaa. This little 4-year-old girl, born in Australia, remains in immigration detention in the community.   

 

While it is essential that Tharni continues to receive the medical treatment she needs following her serious illnesses, including pneumonia and sepsis, we understand the family is hopeful the government will allow her to access this treatment in Queensland.   We urge the Minister to take into account the advice of Tharni’s doctors. 

 

Many Australians will be concerned that the Minister has only granted the three family members a three-month bridging visa, and we share those concerns.  We are hopeful that the Minister has set a three-month period with a view to allow him the time required to consider the materials before him and make a decision to return the family to their home in Biloela.  

 

There is now considerable support from both sides of politics for the release of this family – including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, broadcaster Alan Jones, and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.  

  

As it has been the case all along, Mr Morrison and Ministers Andrews and Hawke can grant the Biloela family permanent protection and bring them home to Queensland with a stroke of a pen.   Immigration ministers - including Ministers Dutton and Hawke - have made thousands of discretionary decisions each year to grant visas in circumstances like these, including on compassionate grounds. 

 

It is past time for the Morrison Government to bring this sorry saga to an end and allow the family to come home to Biloela.  

 

It is also time to stop the waste of taxpayer dollars:  The Morrison Government has spent at least $50 million of taxpayer funds in detaining and attempting to deport the family. 

 

We encourage you to show your support for the Murugappan family by signing Labor’s petition to bring them home to Biloela. 

 

The integrity of Australia’s immigration system is an important matter, but the system also allows compassion and support for families and children in our community. 

 

It is time for Priya, Nades, Kopika and Tharunicaa to return home to the Queensland community that they love, and that loves them in return.  

 

Thank you taking the time to contact me about this issue.  

 

Kristina  

 
Sign Labor’s petition to bring them home to Biloela. 

 

Kristina Keneally
Deputy Labor Leader in the Senate
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Senator for New South Wales

Two letters to Pat Conaghan MP for Cowper re the Murugappan Family.

 Dear Mr. Conaghan,

I was heartened to hear the new leader of the Nationals Party adding his voice in support of the Murugappan family. Like so many Australians, he believes that it is time to end the uncertainty for this family, and to let them return to, and settle in, Biloela. He went so far as to say that, if the little girls’ names had been “Jane and Sally”, this matter would have been concluded a long time ago.

Do you agree with Barnaby Joyce’s assessment of the situation? Will you now join your leader in calling on the government to release the family from community detention in Perth and to allow them to restart their lives in Biloela, where the community will welcome them with open arms?

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Mike G.........

........Valla Beach NSW 2448

 

 

Dear Mr Conaghan,

 

As we know, the Nationals Party now has a new leader in Barnaby Joyce. In recent times he has expressed the view that the Murugappan family should be allowed to return to Biloela and be granted permission to stay in Australia .

Many of us support this view and are concerned to know what your own position is on this . Do you support the view of your new leader and can we look forward to support from your party to put an end to the years of isolation and suffering of this family?  They have the support of their community in Biloela , the husband was in work and they were no drain on the public purse. As the situation has unfolded, millions of dollars have been spent keeping the family isolated on Christmas Island. Do you support this arrangement and will you be a voice in parliament to  press for the family to be able to return to their Queensland home ?

Yours sincerely,

Marlene G........

.........., Valla Beach NSW 2448

 

Letters to PAT CONAGHAN MP Federal Member for Cowper

The Murugappan family

Dear Mr Conaghan,

It is not and has never been illegal to seek asylum in Australia, whether arriving by boat or plane.  Keeping people in indefinite detention is, however, illegal under our international obligations.
I understand what the official Government policy states, and that both major parties subscribe to it.  It is cruel and needless in my opinion.  The boats have been successfully turned back for many years now.  The option of New Zealand has been offered to our country over the last several years, and should immediately be accepted.

Whether the Tamil family needs protection is not the issue, they are a hard working decent family that were making their own way in a regional town that valued them, and need to be returned there.  Priya saw her family murdered before her eyes and she and her husband have good reason to fear for the safety of their family simply because of their ethnicity
.
Thank you very much for your reply, I really appreciate it. I just cant  agree with injustice.  Australia should not discard people as not worth giving assistance to simply because of a political ideal.  Kindness is underrated when we discuss our country's values.  As is true equality for all.
Yours faithfully,
Pat de Jong

On 30 July 2020, at 9:31 am, "Conaghan, Pat (MP)" <Pat.Conaghan.MP@aph.gov.au> wrote:

Dear Mrs de Jong,

Thanks for your email.

I understand you have had long-standing apprehensions regarding the treatment of asylum seekers. I appreciate your heart-felt concern for people who have been impacted by the Australian Government’s immigration policies.

As has been stated on many occasions by the Government, those who have tried to enter Australia illegally, trying to circumvent the process we have in place to assist genuine refugees, will never be allowed to stay here permanently.

I don't believe those who have tried reaching our shores by boat are cunning criminals, but I certainly believe those who provide the boats, who provide the opportunity as a 'viable' alternative to a legitimate refugee process, are the criminals. These criminals do not care about the human cost, they do not care for the safety of their 'cargo' and are waiting for any opportunity to recommence their activities. The last time people smugglers took this type of opportunity, people died. We do not want to see any more senseless deaths at sea. If that means our Government stays tough on border protection, then so be it.

In relation to the Murugappan family you refer to (the family on Christmas Island), both adults arrived in Australia as Illegal Maritime Arrivals (IMA), having paid a people smuggler and arrived in Australia illegally by boat. After arriving separately in Australia, they met and married and had two children. Since 2012, the family’s claims to engage Australia’s protection obligations have been comprehensively assessed on a number of occasions by the Department of Home Affairs and various merits review bodies. The family has consistently been found not to be owed protection. Mr Murugappan was found not to engage Australia’s protection obligations in late 2012 and that decision was affirmed by the Refugee Review Tribunal in 2013. Mrs Murugappan was found not to engage Australia’s protection obligations in 2016. The Immigration Assessment Authority affirmed that decision in 2017. These decisions have also been the subject of judicial review, including in the Federal Magistrates Court/Federal Circuit Court, appeal to the Full Federal Court and applications for special leave to appeal to the High Court. Each of these applications have been dismissed.

Our country has one of the most generous humanitarian programs in the world. We do more than most to assist and resettle genuine refugees in need of protection and will continue to do so.

Yours sincerely,

Dear Mr Conaghan,
It is not and has never been illegal to seek asylum in Australia, whether arriving by boat or plane.  Keeping people in indefinite detention is, however, illegal under our international obligations.
I understand what the official Government policy states, and that both major parties subscribe to it.  It is cruel and needless in my opinion.  The boats have been successfully turned back for many years now.  The option of New Zealand has been offered to our country over the last several years, and should immediately be accepted.
Whether the Tamil family needs protection is not the issue, they are a hard working decent family that were making their own way in a regional town that valued them, and need to be returned there.  Priya saw her family murdered before her eyes and she and her husband have good reason to fear for the safety of their family simply because of their ethnicity
.
Thank you very much for your reply, I really appreciate it. I just cant  agree with injustice.  Australia should not discard people as not worth giving assistance to simply because of a political ideal.  Kindness is underrated when we discuss our country's values.  As is true equality for all.
Yours faithfully,
Pat de Jong

Dear Mrs de Jong,

Thanks for your email.

I understand you have had long-standing apprehensions regarding the treatment of asylum seekers. I appreciate your heart-felt concern for people who have been impacted by the Australian Government’s immigration policies.

As has been stated on many occasions by the Government, those who have tried to enter Australia illegally, trying to circumvent the process we have in place to assist genuine refugees, will never be allowed to stay here permanently.

I don't believe those who have tried reaching our shores by boat are cunning criminals, but I certainly believe those who provide the boats, who provide the opportunity as a 'viable' alternative to a legitimate refugee process, are the criminals. These criminals do not care about the human cost, they do not care for the safety of their 'cargo' and are waiting for any opportunity to recommence their activities. The last time people smugglers took this type of opportunity, people died. We do not want to see any more senseless deaths at sea. If that means our Government stays tough on border protection, then so be it.

In relation to the Murugappan family you refer to (the family on Christmas Island), both adults arrived in Australia as Illegal Maritime Arrivals (IMA), having paid a people smuggler and arrived in Australia illegally by boat. After arriving separately in Australia, they met and married and had two children. Since 2012, the family’s claims to engage Australia’s protection obligations have been comprehensively assessed on a number of occasions by the Department of Home Affairs and various merits review bodies. The family has consistently been found not to be owed protection. Mr Murugappan was found not to engage Australia’s protection obligations in late 2012 and that decision was affirmed by the Refugee Review Tribunal in 2013. Mrs Murugappan was found not to engage Australia’s protection obligations in 2016. The Immigration Assessment Authority affirmed that decision in 2017. These decisions have also been the subject of judicial review, including in the Federal Magistrates Court/Federal Circuit Court, appeal to the Full Federal Court and applications for special leave to appeal to the High Court. Each of these applications have been dismissed.

Our country has one of the most generous humanitarian programs in the world. We do more than most to assist and resettle genuine refugees in need of protection and will continue to do so.

Yours sincerely,

PAT CONAGHAN MP

Federal Member for Cowper

Dear Mr Conaghan,

I am writing to you as my local representative because it has distressed me for years now that refugees have been imprisoned and left without any certainty of a normal future life in society. Every one of them has fled persecution, whether called by our country a 'refugee' or asylum seeker. Only desperate people risk their lives in leaky boats, not cunning criminals as one or two politicians have described them.

Please do your utmost to have all of them, either offshore or here locked up from Christmas Island (the Biloela family) to mainland cities, released into society. You can be assured that there are many many organisations prepared to care for all of them. It has been so utterly cruel and immoral what Australia has and still is doing.

Thank you also for your advocacy concerning a decent amount for our unemployed to live on.

By the way, millions of dollars,hundreds of millions, will be saved by doing this. Just read about what Peter Dutton has showered various companies(e.g. Paladin) with in return for 'guarding' the refugees.

Regards,

Pat de Jong.

-----Original Message-----
From: Pay Dr Jong
Sent: Saturday, 25 July 2020 3:48 PM
To: Conaghan, Pat (MP)
Subject: Refugees

Dear Mr Conaghan,

I am writing to you as my local representative because it has distressed me for years now that refugees have been imprisoned and left without any certainty of a normal future life in society. Every one of them has fled persecution, whether called by our country a 'refugee' or asylum seeker. Only desperate people risk their lives in leaky boats, not cunning criminals as one or two politicians have described them.

Please do your utmost to have all of them, either offshore or here locked up from Christmas Island (the Biloela family) to mainland cities, released into society. You can be assured that there are many many organisations prepared to care for all of them. It has been so utterly cruel and immoral what Australia has and still is doing.

Thank you also for your advocacy concerning a decent amount for our unemployed to live on.

By the way, millions of dollars,hundreds of millions, will be saved by doing this. Just read about what Peter Dutton has showered various companies(e.g. Paladin) with in return for 'guarding' the refugees.

Regards,

Pat de Jong.