Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Tamil family supporters appeal to Dutton

A petition with more than 98,000 signatures asking for a Sri Lankan family to be taken back home to Biloela in Queensland has been delivered to Peter Dutton.

Biloela residents trying to bring home a Sri Lankan family taken from their central Queensland town have delivered a petition with more than 98,000 signatures to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Angela Fredericks delivered the petition to Mr Dutton's Strathpine office in Brisbane's north on Friday, two months after Tamils Priya and Nadesalingam and their two Australian-born children were placed in detention.

"We are never going to stop caring about this family. We are not going to let this go away," Ms Fredericks told AAP on Friday.

The family remain in limbo as they wait for a decision on whether they will be deported.

Priya's case went before the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne on May 1 with Judge Caroline Kirton's judgment set to be handed down at a later date.

Lawyers are seeking a ministerial intervention into Nadesalingam's case which has already gone through the high court.

The family remain in detention in Melbourne, more than 1800km away from their Queensland home.

"I think the stress is taking its toll, you can hear they are getting weary," Ms Fredericks said.

"It's now been 75 days - you can see the psychological trauma is starting to happen."

The couple are in detention with their two girls, three-year-old Kopika and baby Tharunicaa.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world