Biloela family reunited, future in balance

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on Tuesday confirmed the family would be removed from Christmas Island, where they have been detained for over two years, and held in community detention in Perth as their legal claims were assessed.

Father Nades and elder daughter Kopika, aged 6, boarded a flight to WA on Tuesday afternoon and were reunited with mother Priya and Tharnicaa later that evening.

Tharnicaa, who turned four last weekend, was evacuated to Perth Children’s Hospital last week over a blood infection brought on by pneumonia which went untreated on Christmas Island.

It was expected Tharnicaa would need to remain in hospital for eight weeks as she recovered.

RELATED: Biloela family expected to receive ‘good decision’ on ability to stay in Australia after major push

The family will not be allowed to return to the regional Queensland town of Biloela, where they lived prior to their detention and remained highly popular.

But acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack insisted the family’s new arrangement would allow them access to education and health care.

“They’re being looked after in every which way. Of course, they’ll go through that legal process, but if ever there was a compassionate government that stopped the boats, that was what we needed to do,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles welcomed the reunification but said the family should be returned to Biloela as their legal situation was resolved.

“It highlights how ridiculous it was that this family was placed on Christmas Island, essentially by themselves, at an enormous cost to the Australian taxpayer,” he said on Wednesday.

Mr Marles would not be drawn on how Labor would have handled the “very particular set of circumstances” but said a “common sense” rule should apply to the immigration system.

“There is at its heart ministerial discretion, which means that the rule of common sense can apply here, and that’s what ultimately should be applied in relation to his family,” he said.

Mr Hawke on Tuesday left the door slightly ajar for permanent resettlement, saying there were “several outstanding” legal pathways for the family to pursue.

But he argued Australia did “not owe protection” to the family, and the government’s policy of deporting non-refugee boat arrivals remained unchanged.

The immigration minister was considering lifting a ban on children born onshore receiving citizenship if their parents applied for temporary protection.

Both girls were born in Australia.

Mr Hawke said Tharnicaa being granted citizenship could impact her parents’ ability to remain in Australia permanently.

“If a child is found to be owed protection obligations, that then will impact the immigration status of family members here in Australia,” he said.

WA Premier Mark McGowan hit out at the government’s “holding pattern” decision which left the case unresolved, and said the family being sent to Biloela would be the “best outcome”.

“If this is a transition to that outcome, well then that’s good,” he said on Tuesday.

He had previously demanded the federal government “sort out” the case which had become an “internationally embarrassing issue”.