The Tamil family at the centre of a four-year immigration battle have received permanent visas, ending a community-driven campaign against their deportation.

Priya Nadaraja, Nades Murugappan and their daughters Kopika and Tharnicaa have been living in Biloela in regional Queensland since June, after the new Labor government granted them bridging visas.

The family had spent four years in immigration detention after their visas expired in 2018.

The ABC has confirmed the family was visited by the Department of Home Affairs team at their Biloela home today and told they had been granted permanent visas.

About bloody time!

Awesome

I feel sorry for Frank's dog today.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 5^th, 2022 at 7:25pm:

I feel sorry for Frank's dog today.

You think it'll get a bit of a rogering?

Poor thing. The least Frank could do is lube him up a bit, it's just good manners.

Hot dog, no?

Good that.  8-)

Karnal wrote on Aug 6^th, 2022 at 12:09am:

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 5th, 2022 at 7:25pm: I feel sorry for Frank's dog today. You think it'll get a bit of a rogering? Poor thing. The least Frank could do is lube him up a bit, it's just good manners. Hot dog, no?

I think we can do without bestiality accusations.

An Adelaide electrician facing ­deportation back to Scotland ­despite being brought out to fill gaps in the labour market is defying an Immigration Department order to leave the country.

Instead, Mark Green is using the precedent set last week by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in granting permanent residency to Biloela’s Nadesalingam family from Sri Lanka to argue that he and his family should also be ­allowed to stay.

Mr Green, his wife, Kelly, and daughter, Rebecca, were scheduled to be deported from Adelaide at 10pm on Wednesday but have vowed to remain in Australia to fight for their right to stay.

Mr Giles confirmed on Wednesday night he would grant the Greens a one-month extension on their deportation order so that their lawyer’s submission could be considered.

Mr Green is on a bridging visa and has worked the entire time he has been in Australia, save for a few brief periods when the solar panel companies employing him went bust.

He has never sought or received any assistance from the Australian taxpayer.

Through their lawyer, the Greens are lodging a new ­appeal direct to the Immigration Minister framed around his intervention in the case of the Nadesalingam ­family last week. Mr Pangallo said there should be no difference between the treatment of the Nadesalingams and the Greens.

“In the Nadesalingam family matter, the minister exercised his power to allow the Sri Lankan family to remain permanently in Australia after ‘careful consideration of all relevant matters’,” Mr Pangallo said.

“I urge him to do the very same thing with the Greens.

“If not, the minister needs to ­explain how he can approve ­permanent residency to the Sri ­Lankan couple – who entered the country illegally – and their two young children, but deny the same approval to a family who entered the country legally and have been paying their own way, including taxes, for the past decade.

“The Greens are of excellent character and fill all the requirements of people seeking permanent residency in this country.

“They have never been a burden on taxpayers.

“They deserve to be granted permanent residency, particularly in the middle of a skilled workers crisis.”

Mr Green said he and his family loved Australia, had built their lives here and had no real connection to Scotland anymore.

“We want so desperately to stay in Australia,” he said.

“This has been our home for the past 10 years and a place where we have established a ­future for ourselves.

The entry by the Tamil couple (as they are now) was not illegal. You are allowed to enter the country to seek asylum, we did sign up to the UN Refugee Charter.

Why does this STILL have to be pointed out?

Jovial Monk wrote on Aug 11^th, 2022 at 8:55am:

The entry by the Tamil couple (as they are now) was not illegal. You are allowed to enter the country to seek asylum, we did sign up to the UN Refugee Charter. Why does this STILL have to be pointed out?

People like Frank like to lie about the legality of their entry so they can pretend they have a legitimate reason to want them out of the country and don't have to admit it's because they're not white.

SadKangaroo wrote on Aug 11^th, 2022 at 12:30pm:

Jovial Monk wrote on Aug 11th, 2022 at 8:55am: The entry by the Tamil couple (as they are now) was not illegal. You are allowed to enter the country to seek asylum, we did sign up to the UN Refugee Charter. Why does this STILL have to be pointed out? People like Frank like to lie about the legality of their entry so they can pretend they have a legitimate reason to want them out of the country and don't have to admit it's because they're not white.

Not a lie at all. They did enter illegally - no passport, no Vvisa, on an illegal boat.  Their asylum claims were subsequently refused a number of times, including by the High Court.

Whether you claim asylum doesn't  make your illegal entry a legal entry. Two SEPARATE THINGS, entering Australia (doable both legally and illegally) and SUBSEQUENTLY, as a separate act, claiming asylum  (or not).

The third step is to have your claim assessed and request granted or refused.

The Scots have the additional merit over the Tamils that they did not enter illegally and have not cost the Australian taxpayer millions of dollars in court cost to finance the appeals of rejected asylum claims, like the Tamils.  And he is skilled.

SadKangaroo wrote on Aug 11^th, 2022 at 12:30pm:

it's because they're not white.

:'( :'( :'(   EVERYTHING is wacism!!!   :'( :'( :'(



New South Wales will close a loophole that has allowed drivers to use foreign licences on Australia's roads while escaping fines and demerit point penalties.

Holders of temporary working or student visas have been able to use their overseas licences indefinitely but from November they will have to swap to a local permit if they have lived in the state for more than three months.

New rules will also mean motorists from 'unrecognised' countries such as China, India and Nepal will soon need to sit a test if they want to get behind the wheel.

Those with driving qualifications from 'recognised' countries such as the UK or Germany will be able to transfer to a NSW licence automatically.