Head an hour inland from Gladstone on Queensland's coast and you will hit Biloela. If you only follow the track from the coal mine to the pub, it can look the way you might imagine outback Queensland: white as. But the census tells a different story. Yes, about three-quarters of Biloelans were born in Australia - the rest come from New Zealand, the Philippines, Vietnam, England and Myanmar.
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But this story is about two kids who were born here, and who are currently being punished for what Peter Dutton perceives as the misdeeds of their parents. You will know these kids: they are Kopika and Tharunicaa, the two small children of Nades and Priya. All four are currently on Christmas Island, in detention, while the Australian government tries desperately to deport them. It has been nearly three years since they were bundled out of their homes with no notice. The only reason anyone in Biloela ever knew they'd gone was because the family missed planned meet-ups with friends and with health professionals. Biloelans one day, detainees the next - first in Melbourne and then on Christmas Island. Experts say these are the last children in captivity in Australia, although that ignores the First Nations children in juvenile detention.
Whoever it is, it is so wrong. It is a week out from Christmas, and my Christmas wish is for this family to be freed from Christmas Island. Then, all my Christmases would come at once. I'm sure the only way that will happen is if Dutton is dumped and you get someone with compassion in his place. It could happen in my fantasy ministerial reshuffle.
My parents arrived in Australia in 1951. They came by boat, after country after country turned them away. Australians have brief periods of welcoming those from other countries and other cultures, and when they do, it usually works out well. My grandparents were murdered, which is why Australia gave my folks refuge.
Priya's fiancé was burned alive in front of her. Surely we can extend the same courtesy of refuge to this Sri Lanka family as we did to my family. My parents contributed so much love to this country - three kids, taxpayers, hardly ever flouted the law. Locals say the family fitted in so well. They are Hindu, but happily hung out with Anglicans and Catholics, no worries. Nades worked in the meatworks, had mates, loved it there. Priya took her kids to the Anglican playgroup. Now they are 5000 kilometres away.
When The Guardian Australia's Ben Doherty visited Christmas Island earlier this year, he described the bleakest scenes. Children who could rarely get out, and even more rarely get to play with other children. Guards everywhere, all the time. The family are tightly controlled, night and day, day and night.
Priya told Doherty: "It's very hard for us. Every day is difficult. But I tell myself I have to be strong, for my children, and believe I will see our home in Biloela again."
Biloela is keen to see them. Most of Biloela, that is. There is always the rump of One Nation voters, whining about sovereignty and invasions. But most Biloelans recognise how well the family fitted into the town. Angela Fredericks, a Biloela social worker and a tireless advocate for the family, says that the best present in the world would be to have the family home for Christmas: "Particularly now, particularly after the year we have all had, people are appreciating we can see each other again."
Fredericks has been in Bilo for years now, and she loves it. When the family disappeared, she was devastated. She and her friend Simone Cameron, who now lives in Malaysia, and others started campaigning furiously. Fredericks says she felt a strong need to protect the family.
"When you hear their stories, you know fear. I know they have genuine fear," she says.
Right now Biloela is preparing for Christmas. There is usually a Christmas festival down at the big park, and carols at the silo. COVID-19 has destroyed all of that. But it hasn't destroyed the town's love and support for the family on Christmas Island.
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"I would just like my friends to be home," says Fredericks.
Simone Cameron and the family were in Biloela at the same time, but Cameron didn't really get to know them until she moved to Melbourne. A friend tipped her off that the family had been moved to detention in Melbourne. She started visiting, and the friendship began. A few months later, the government tried to deport the family, but a court order meant they were stopped in Darwin and sent to Christmas Island.
Cameron, who is behind the @hometobilo Twitter account, says: "It is so categorically wrong that a country like Australia could be doing this to people. We pretend to be about having a fair go. There is no reason to do this, no reason. They were contributing members of the community, law abiding people.
"These kids deserve better."
And one lawyer is trying to make sure that happens. Carina Ford, a Melbourne immigration lawyer, says that the government wants to be seen to be tough on boat arrivals but should also remember that nearly all of those applying for asylum are released on bridging visas while their court cases are pending. There is no earthly reason why this family should be treated differently.
Let's pray for a good Christmas, not just for us but for that tiny family from Biloela. And aside from prayers, write to your local member and maybe even the Prime Minister. I doubt you will get too far with Peter Dutton.
- Jenna Price is a visiting fellow at the Australian National University and a regular columnist.
