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The Federal Government has been ordered to pay $206,000 in legal fees for a two-year-old Tamil girl who has been embroiled in a high-profile legal battle to stay in Australia with her family.
Key points:
- Earlier this month the Federal Court ruled Tharunicaa's asylum bid was not afforded procedural fairness by the Federal Government
- The Government has now been ordered to pay legal costs of $206,000
- Supporters of the family are pushing for Tharunicaa's asylum bid to be assessed again
Priya, Nades and their Australian-born daughters, four-year-old Kopika and two-year-old Tharunicaa, had been living in Biloela, in central Queensland, until they were taken to immigration detention in Melbourne in March 2018.
The family have remained in detention at Christmas Island since August 2019.
The Tamil family has fought and lost numerous court battles to remain in Australia, saying they were in fear of persecution if they were returned to Sri Lanka.
Three of the family members have exhausted their legal avenues and the Federal Government has maintained that they are not genuine asylum seekers.
But earlier this month, the Federal Court ruled Tharunicaa's original asylum bid was "not afforded procedural fairness" by the Federal Government.
The Federal Government has now been ordered to pay the costs of Tharunicaa's application to the Federal Court.
The family's lawyer Carina Ford said that case involved "an enormous amount of discovery, various applications and a significant amount of barristers' work".
"What is a positive sign is that we've been awarded costs rather than have to go [and do] further work to try and have to agree on costs," Ms Ford said.
Angela Fredericks, a Biloela resident and a long-time advocate for the family, said up until now legal fees had been paid by the family's supporters in Biloela and around the country.
"So getting this money … what that means is that we can ensure that our lawyers can continue to be paid," she said.
Family 'fully across' legal matters on Christmas Island
While the $206,000 in legal costs have been awarded to Tharunicaa, it is still unclear what will happen to the family's bid to stay in Australia.
Their legal team is pushing for Tharunicaa's original asylum bid to now be assessed again.
"We would say that the original [request] should now be considered. And any international protection assessment should be given procedural fairness, which it wasn't last time," Ms Ford said.
"It's difficult for me to give an exact answer on that because, in many ways, it's in the hands of the [Minister for Immigration David Coleman] to determine that.
"At this stage, I can't say how confident I am."
Ms Fredericks said advocates were viewing the last legal decision as "a win".
"So for us, just the fact that it means that we've still got some avenues here," Ms Fredericks said.
"They're not being put on a plane to be deported right now — that is definitely a win."
The Minister and the Department of Home Affairs have been contacted for comment.
Ms Ford said the family was staying strong on Christmas Island and was "fully across the legal issues".
"But I will add though they are finding it increasingly difficult being detained," she said.
"The length of time that anybody is detained for it does create further issues."
Ms Ford and advocates for the family have long argued that the Minister should exercise ministerial privilege and grant the family protection in Australia.
The case has seen significant attention under the banner #HomeToBilo and the Government has so far not changed its position on the case.
There is still the chance that either the family's legal team or the Federal Government could challenge the outcomes of the Federal Court decision from earlier this month.
Timeline of events:
- 2012 and 2013 Nadesalingam Murugappan, known as Nades, and Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam, known as Priya, arrive separately in Australia by boat
- May 2015 Their first daughter Kopika is born
- June 2017 Their second daughter Tharunicaa is born
- March 2018 The family is taken from the central Queensland town of Biloela to the Broadmeadows detention centre in Melbourne after the parents' visas expire
- June 21, 2018 The Federal Circuit court rejects the family's appeal against deportation
- May 14, 2019 The family loses its bid to have the High Court hear the case
- August 29, 2019 Officials begin to deport the family to Sri Lanka before a mid-air injunction forces the plane to land in Darwin. Lawyers for two-year-old Tharunicaa argue her case for asylum has not been assessed. The family are kept together, but Tharunicaa's claim remains the only thing keeping the family on Australian soil
- August 30, 2019 The Federal Court extends the injunction preventing deportation before the family are flown to Christmas Island late at night
- September 1, 2019 People rally around Australia in support of the family
- September 2, 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison rules out ministerial intervention in the family's case
- September 4, 2019 Tharunicaa's case returns to the Federal Court in Melbourne, where an affidavit from Immigration Minister David Coleman says her case has already been assessed. The deportation injunction is again extended
- September 6, 2019 The Federal Court asks the Immigration Minister to provide more evidence to support the claim Tharnicaa has no right to asylum. The injunction is again extended while the family remains on Christmas Island
- September 18, 2019 The case returns to court, where the injunction is extended for another 24 hours
- September 19, 2019 The Federal Court rules there is enough evidence for Tharunicaa's visa protection claim to go to trial. Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg's ruling means the whole family can stay in Australia until the case is finalised
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, government-and-politics, immigration-policy, immigration, community-and-society, melbourne-3000, vic, biloela-4715, qld