'HOME TO BILOELA AT LAST' by M. Griffin

 Soon after the federal election in May, the new Labor government kept its promise to allow the Murugappan family - parents Nades and Priya, and children Kopita and Tharnicaa – to return home to Biloela in Queensland. It was a day of jubilation and celebration for the Biloela community, and, inevitably, a great photo opportunity for our political leaders to share the limelight. Since then, as expected, the family has been granted permission to remain permanently in Australia. After four years of detention, including a lengthy stay on Christmas Island, the family can now rebuild their lives in the town that had previously welcomed them with open arms.

Looking back, it seems incomprehensible that the Coalition government would spent upwards of $50 million on its ideological and inflexible pursuit of this family. Even Barnaby Joyce, who at the time was the leader of the Nationals and Deputy Prime Minister, was of the view that his government’s position made no sense. He pointed out that the two girls were born in Australia, and that common sense should prevail. Our local MP, Pat Conaghan, however, took a different stance. He argued that the family had had their days in court, had not been able to establish that they were genuine refugees, and that they should not therefore be afforded special treatment. In other words, they should have been deported to Sri Lanka.

In the end, human compassion and common sense prevailed, and the Minister used his discretion, as he is entitled to do, to grant the family permission to remain permanently in Australia.

The Murugappan family are, of course, the lucky ones. There are thousands of other refugee families who have been living in Australia for up to ten years, including children who have been born here, but who, so far, have no certainty about their future. Most of them have been recognised as genuine refugees, who are therefore entitled to our protection under international law, yet they have only been issued with temporary visas, which makes their live very precarious. It is more difficult for them to find permanent employment, it’s impossible for them to get a mortgage, and their children are not able to access student loans to enable them to progress to tertiary education. They live their lives in permanent uncertainty, which inevitably has a serious impact on their health and wellbeing.

The government did the right thing by the Biloela family. It’s now time to step up and grant permanent residency to the many refugees who have proven that they want to work and contribute to Australian society.  It should be a no-brainer.