While there are no winners in the political bunfight over the imminent deportation of a family of Tamils to Sri Lanka, there are four highly visible losers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
They are Nadesalingam Murugappan, his wife, Kokilapathmapriya (Priya) Nadarasa, and their daughters, Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 2.
They are incarcerated on Christmas Island awaiting deportation back to the country the parents fled in 2012 and 2013 respectively once the courts have finished processing the latest legal bid lodged on their behalf.
It is highly unlikely their deportation, which now seems almost inevitable, will end a sorry saga which has seen Border Force personnel accused of lacking sensitivity and being "un-Australian" in the way they have treated the family.
The four were seized and taken into detention from their family home, a modest bungalow in the central Queensland town of Biloela, in March last year after Priya's bridging visa expired.
Nadesalingam had been working at the local abattoir and the small community of 5000 had taken the young family of asylum seekers, whose two girls were born in Australia, to its heart.
When it was learnt they had been whisked away to detention in Melbourne without any time for goodbyes or even for the girls to pick up their toys people were shocked and outraged. Locals collected more than 200,000 signatures on a petition asking that the Biloela four be allowed to stay.
Border Force has turned back several boats from Sri Lanka recently.
The case then took on a life of its own, evolving into a cause célèbre that has become the latest line in the sand between opponents and supporters of Australia's highly controversial policy on how to deal with asylum seekers who arrive by boat.
The debate that ensued has been less than edifying.
Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, while standing firm on his refusal to exercise his ministerial discretion to allow them to stay, hasn't even tried to explain why his staff acted so harshly and with such little humanity towards two infant children and their parents.
Labor's home affairs spokeswoman, Kristina Keneally, has used every trick in the book, including the religion card, to demonise both Dutton and Scott Morrison for refusing to overrule a succession of court decisions which ruled the parents aren't refugees.
This is despite her own party's strong bipartisan support for not allowing boat arrivals to obtain residency on the grounds that to do so would restart the people smuggling trade. Supporters of that argument point to the disclosure border protection vessels have turned back several Sri Lankan vessels in recent months.
While there are merits to both sides of the argument, it is apparent the plight of the individuals concerned has taken a backseat to the various agendas driving the factions and interest groups who have all decided it is worth their while to have some skin in this game.
Scott Morrison seemed to be offering one possible way out when he said: "They can return to Sri Lanka and... make application to come to Australia under the same processes as everyone else... and I hope they do. I would hope they do".
Others have suggested those who claim to care about the family should give thought to a fund to help them resettle in Sri Lanka. A small amount by Australian standards would make a huge difference to their prospects.
Both of these possibilities have merit. The question is are those who are making the most noise on this issue driven by a desire for the best outcome for the family or just political point scoring?
Time will tell. It is by their fruits that we will know them.
