Australians Wait With Bated Breath Amid Imminent Decision On Biloela Family

The long-awaited outcome for a Tamil refugee family to return to their home in the regional Queensland town of Biloela is expected today.

The newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said interim Home Affairs Minister Jim Chalmers will make a statement on Friday about the Tamil Murugappan family.

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Mr Albanese said that the statement will reflect the view that Australia can have strong borders without being weak on humanity.

“This is a family that were welcomed and were a part of the Biloela community and at the cost of many millions of dollars have been treated in a way which just is not appropriate with Australian values,” he told ABC AM radio on Friday.

Priya and Nades Murugappan came to Australia from Sri Lanka as refugees during a protracted ethnic conflict targeting the minority Tamils.

They were granted temporary visas before settling in Biloela in central Queensland, where they created a home with their Australian born daughters, Kopika and Tharnicaa.

But in early 2018, their home was raided by Australian Border Force, and they were uprooted from Biloela and placed in a Melbourne detention centre.

They were then sent to Christmas Island in August 2019, and were detained there until the youngest daughter, Tharnicaa became unwell in 2021 and was flown to Perth for emergency care.

The rest of the family followed and have been living in Perth in recent months.

Labor promised during the federal election campaign that if they won, they would allow the Nadesalingam family to return home to Biloela.

"The community want this family back to Biloela and that would be an entirely appropriate outcome," Mr Albanese said.

More to come.

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