Biloela family approved for return home

A family of Tamil asylum seekers who captured the hearts of Australians has been permitted to return to their home in the regional Queensland town of Biloela on bridging visas. Nadesalingam and Priya Murugappan fled Sri Lanka after the country’s civil war, arriving separately on peoplesmuggling vessels in 2012 and 2013. Home Affairs Minister Jim Chalmers said yesterday he had exercised his power under Section 195A of the Migration Act. ‘‘The effect of my intervention enables the family to return to Biloela, where they can reside lawfully in the community on bridging visas while they work towards the resolution of their immigration status, in accordance with Australian law,’’ he said. The couple met in Australia and married in 2014, and both were granted temporary visas settling in Biloela, where they had two daughters, Kopika, 6, and Tharunicaa, 4. In March 2018, immigration officers took the family from their Biloela home after Priya’s bridging visa expired and Nades’ refugee status claim was rejected. They were taken to a detention centre in Melbourne. In late August 2019, the coalition government put the family on a plane bound for Sri Lanka. But their deportation was sensationally halted mid-flight when a Federal Court judge granted a lastminute injunction. The plane was forced to land in Darwin and the family was moved to the Christmas Island detention centre. In September, 12-month bridging visas were granted to Pria, Nades and Kopika, but not to Tharunicaa, which still meant the family could not return to Biloela.