Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has weighed in on the controversial deportation of a Tamil asylum seeker family, saying the parents had contributed to their regional Queensland town and the government should consider the strong showing of support from the Biloela community.

Tamil husband and wife Nadesalingam and Priya, who arrived in Australia by boat in 2012 and 2013, and their two Australian-born daughters, were moved to immigration detention in Melbourne last year and the government moved to deport them on Thursday.

Priya and Nadesalingam and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa. Credit:Photo: Twitter/@HometoBilo

The family's deportation has been temporarily delayed after lawyers secured an injunction until Wednesday, having argued that the youngest daughter's protection case had not been properly assessed by the government. The charter flight bound for Sri Lanka was forced to land in Darwin. The family was then moved to the Christmas Island detention centre on Friday night.

Mr Joyce has joined an unlikely grouping of people expressing sympathy for the family, following appeals from conservative broadcaster Alan Jones and the Labor Party.