24 July 2020 12:00 am
-Quoting Daily Mail
Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has told a Sri Lankan family fighting deportation from Australia to give up and go home.
The minister said the family-of-four, who are detained on Christmas Island, has cost the taxpayer $10 million which could have been spent on Australians.
Priya and Nades Murugappan came to Australia by boat separately in 2012 and 2013, alleging they were escaping the Sri Lankan civil war.
They settled in Biloela, Queensland and had two daughters, Kopika, four, and Tharunicaa, two. They have applied for asylum but the government does not believe they are refugees and wants to deport them. However, several court orders have barred the government from sending them home, meaning they are stuck in limbo on Christmas Island.
Speaking on Sydney radio 2GB today, Mr Dutton said the family should stop fighting. ‘They are not refugees and they have used every trick in the book to make sure they can stay. ‘This is a situation of their own making, it is ridiculous, it’s unfair on their children, and it sends a very bad message to other people who think that they can rot the system as well.’ The family will be held while their case continues.