A court has extended the injunction for the two-year-old asylum seeker. Peter Dutton said the family were ‘not owed protection’ after they were removed from flight in Darwin while being deported

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The deportation of a two-year-old Tamil asylum seeker has been put on hold until next Wednesday after a federal court ruled on Friday to delay the deportation until her case is heard.

Federal court justice Mordechai Bromberg delayed her deportation on Friday morning, the latest in a series of dramatic developments, which began when the family of four was put on a non-commercial flight from Melbourne bound for Sri Lanka about 11pm on Thursday.

A federal circuit court judge granted a last-minute temporary injunction after the plane landed in Darwin early on Friday and Priya, her husband, Nadesalingam, and their two Australian-born daughters were taken to accommodation, according to a family friend who was in contact with them by phone.

Lawyers acting for one of the two daughters, two-year-old Tharunicaa, are seeking to argue no assessment has been conducted by any Australian official as to whether the youngest child is owed protection obligation, and there was a failure by officials to refer the issue to the minister for consideration.

Lawyers acting for the government argued the case was “hopeless”.

Bromberg made no comment on the merit of the case, but made an order preventing Tharunicaa from being removed from Australia until Wednesday 4pm. A hearing for her case is set down in the federal court for Wednesday morning, with another hearing in the federal circuit court on Monday.

Immigration lawyer Carina Ford, who is representing the family, told journalists the order was just for Tharunicaa, and there was nothing to prevent the government from deporting her parents or her four-year-old sister.

“Given the circumstances, it would be a pretty inhumane thing to do to separate the family at this point,” she said.

Guardian Australia has sought comment from immigration minister David Coleman’s office.

The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, said on Friday morning before the hearing the family were not refugees.

“I would like the family to accept that they are not refugees, they’re not owed protection by our country,” the home affairs minister told Nine’s Today program on Friday.

Dutton said immigration authorities had spent years assessing their case, and a succession of courts, including the high court, had not found in their favour.

The plane landed in Darwin just before 3am on Friday. Video footage posted on Twitter by a supporter appeared to show the family being escorted from the plane and leaving in a white van.

‘They are our people’: Queensland town begs Dutton not to deport asylum seeker family Read more

Lawyers secured an interim injunction in the federal circuit court in Melbourne on Thursday blocking the family’s removal.

The orders made by Judge Heather Riley prevent the family being removed until noon on Friday. The order states that an application be listed for hearing at 10am on Friday in the Melbourne registry of the federal circuit court.

“They’re pretty traumatised, as you can imagine, but also very relieved to be still here,” said their friend and former Biloela resident, Simone Cameron.

Family supporter Angela Fredericks said Priya’s arm was injured when security guards bundled her onto the flight.

She was not allowed to sit with her daughters Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 2, even though the youngest girl was highly distressed on the flight from Melbourne to Darwin, Fredericks said.

“This is just cruel and barbaric stuff,” she said.

A photo of Priya obtained by Australian Associated Press showed her wrist had been bandaged.

Priya and Nadesalingam came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 after Sri Lanka’s civil war. The family has been held in a Melbourne detention centre since March 2018, after being taken from their home in Biloela, Queensland, during a pre-dawn raid.

They had lived in the town for four years on a temporary bridging visa. The high court denied their final bid to stay in May 2019.

Jessica Rudd (@Jess_Rudd) On indulgence, Twitter, I’d like to thank the community of Biloela for its spirit, compassion and leadership. You’ve humbled and united a nation. You are Australia at its best. #hometobilo #humankind

Alan Jones (@AlanJones) This Sri Lankan family that was living in Biloela should not be deported. They are good, hard-working people contributing to a regional community. Stop the fight- let them stay. #Biloelahttps://t.co/WqVCgDcbl7

Last week the family found out their efforts to stay in the country had been rejected but supporters called on the immigration minister to reconsider.

Priya was understood to have been separated from her family about 7.30pm on Thursday before being reunited at Melbourne airport ahead of the planned flight back to Sri Lanka, according to a family friend, Angela Fredericks.

“My understanding is they got served papers this evening and then separated,” Fredericks said on Thursday.

About 50 supporters of the family rushed to the airport but were unable to prevent the plane leaving with the family.

Two women are expected to be charged after they broke through a fence at the airport.

Tamil Refugee Council spokesperson Aran Mylvaganam said two people cut through a fence to reach the tarmac where the family was.

Australian Federal Police arrested the pair for breaching a perimeter fence and accessing a security-controlled part of the airport.

“Both women were arrested and removed from the area at approximately 10pm on Thursday. They will be issued with a summons to appear in court at a future date,” the AFP said in a statement on Friday.

Police say the women will face charges relating to trespass and unlawfully interfering with the safe operation of an aircraft.

Supporters have previously said they feared the family would be in danger if sent back to Sri Lanka.

The family have received strong support from Australians, with more than 200,000 people signing a Change.org online petition to prevent them from being sent back.

The immigration department had previously stated that the family’s case had been assessed over many years.