ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A Queensland family has been accused by Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton of needlessly wasting $10 million of taxpayer money in their fight against being deported.
Priya and Nades Murugappan and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa (of Biloela, Q.) have been on in detention on Christmas Island for more than a year awaiting a final decision in their case.
As the case has now been appealed before a full Federal Court, the Commonwealth’s legal costs is set to skyrocket.
Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky ruled in favour of the family in April, finding Tharunicaa had been denied procedural fairness in her protection visa application.
He ordered their costs of $206,934.33 be paid by the Commonwealth.
“This type of misuse of public money is disgusting,” said Dutton in a rare interview with this masthead.
“Even though I’m the sucked mango seed looking bloke who approved that expenditure,”
“And now, we’ve got to the point where if these brown people win their case against me, it’ll all be for nothing. It’s true, in that my office could’ve just granted them all residency and this whole affair would’ve cost about $9.50 in admin costs but we’re past that now,”
“The Crown must win this, at all costs.”
When asked if he had any personal responsibility in this $10m waste of money, the sucked mango seed indicated that he didn’t.
“That’s not my job,”
“You guys sound like my old work colleagues at the police. Always giving me a hard time. Leaving tins of dog food on my desk, calling me a dog. It never ends. This is cyber bullying. Way worse than anything that happened at Pinkenba. Way worse.”
The Advocate sought comment from the Prime Minister’s Office but were told they don’t comment on individual cases – unless that case involves mateship.
More to come.
