Key Points
- The Nadesalingam family, affectionately known as the Biloela family, have been granted permanent visas by the federal government.
- Mr Giles exercised his special ministerial powers to grant the family permanent visas, ending years of uncertainty.
The Nadesalingam finally "feels peace" after Immigration Minister Andrew Giles intervened in their case and granted them permanent residency.
Mr Giles exercised his special ministerial powers to grant the family permanent visas, ending years of uncertainty over whether they would be able to remain in Australia.
"This government made a commitment before the election that, if elected, we would allow the family to return to Biloela and resolve the family’s immigration status. Today, the Government has delivered on that promise," Mr Giles said in a statement released on Friday afternoon.
"This decision follows careful consideration of the Nadesalingam family’s complex and specific circumstances," he said.
"I extend my best wishes to the Nadesalingam family."
Nades and Priya are Tamil asylum seekers who fled persecution from Sri Lanka in 2012 and 2013, arriving by boat in Australia.
After making the town of Biloela their home in 2014, the family was removed by Australian Border Force officers from the town in 2018 after Priya's visa expired.
The couple and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharnicaa .
, said in a Facebook post on Friday afternoon that the Department of Home Affairs visited the Nadesalingam family to deliver the news of their permanent visas.
Mother Priya said she is grateful to Mr Giles for allowing her family to live in peace.
"At last we feel peace. I am so grateful to Minister Giles for granting us this permanency," Priya said.
"Now I know . Now my husband and I can live without fear. This is a very happy day for our family and for all the people of Biloela and Australia who have supported us."
Mr Giles reiterated the Albanese government would continue to intercept unauthorised vessels seeking to reach Australia and remains committed to Operation Sovereign Borders, the military-led border security program established by the Abbott government in 2013.
"I do not want people to die in a boat on a journey when there is zero chance of settling in Australia. This has not changed since the last Government. We are not considering changing this policy," he said.
The Coalition's home affairs spokesperson Karen Andrews criticised Labor's record on border protection, and the Albanese government's commitment to abolishing Temporary Protection Visas.
"Last time Labor was in government, more than 50,000 people arrived here illegally on more than 820 boats. Tragically, at least 1,200 people died at sea," Ms Andrews said in a statement.
"Together with Labor’s policy to abolish temporary protection visas, this gives people smugglers a product to sell to desperate families and people.”
