‘The government turned their backs on the Tamil family’

Greens leader Richard Di Natale has lashed out at the government for attempting to deport a Biloela family, saying Australia was “the only place [the two children have] ever known". Priya, Nadesalingam and their Australian-born children four-year-old Kopika and two-year-old Tharunicaa were taken to Christmas Island after an 11th hour injunction stopped them from being deported. “They came here, started a life, they were welcomed with open arms by a community in regional Australia who opened their hearts while the government had turned their backs on them,” Di Natale told Sky News Australia. “We know the situation in Sri Lanka is very volatile,” the Greens leader said. “We know that these are people that witnessed extreme brutality in the midst of an ongoing civil war.” The family was taken from its home and has been held in a Melbourne detention centre since March 2018 following the expiry of the mother’s temporary bridging visa. The family's case is due to be heard in the Melbourne Federal Circuit Court on Monday.

from National | Daily Telegraph https://ift.tt/2UnnCjN