Australia: Tamil family allowed to stay after years

A Tamil family, whose fate has also made international headlines for years, is allowed to stay permanently in Australia.

A Home Office team broke the news to father Nades Murugappan, his wife Priya and their two Australian-born daughters on Friday, broadcaster ABC reported, citing authorities.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's new Labor government has thus kept an election promise.

In a statement via Facebook, Priya Murugappan said: "Now I know my daughters will be safe growing up in Australia.

Now my husband and I can live without fear.” It is a very happy day for her family.

Immigration Secretary Andrew Giles said the decision was made after "a careful consideration of the complex and specific circumstances".

In June, just a few weeks after the parliamentary elections, the family was allowed to return to the town of Biloela in the state of Queensland, where they had lived until the beginning of their odyssey four years ago.

Detention on Christmas Island

The Murugappan couple fled to Australia by boat from Sri Lanka ten years ago.

From 2014, the two were allowed to settle in Biloela to await the outcome of their asylum procedure.

They found work, had two children and were integrated.

But then her asylum application was rejected and a temporary visa expired in March 2018.

In Melbourne, the family was held in custody pending deportation and were put on a plane without warning in August 2019 - before the plane turned halfway to Sri Lanka and returned to Australia due to a new court order.

At times, the Murugappans were held in a detention center on remote Christmas Island - as the only inmates.

For years there were repeated demonstrations for the family.

Hundreds of thousands signed petitions, a support group collected donations on a website.

According to observers, the story exemplifies Australia's controversial asylum policy, particularly under the previous Conservative government.

swe/dpa