1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,000
Speaker 1: Good morning everybody, and welcome to the Daily OS. It

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,440
Speaker 1: is Thursday, the ninth of June. Hope you've had a

3
00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:08,960
Speaker 1: sensational week so far. On today's podcast, we're going to

4
00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,600
Speaker 1: be talking about the Morgappen family from Billy Wheeler. Plenty

5
00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,079
Speaker 1: to discuss plenty of developments this week. Zara kick us

6
00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:17,560
Speaker 1: off with what we need to know.

7
00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,239
Speaker 2: Some out of space news, and NASA will launch three

8
00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,279
Speaker 2: rockets from the Northern Territories starting at the end of

9
00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,480
Speaker 2: this month. It'll be the first time NASA has launched

10
00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,000
Speaker 2: a rocket from Australia since nineteen ninety five. With about

11
00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,120
Speaker 2: seventy five NASA personnel arriving for the launchers, which will

12
00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:36,400
Speaker 2: finish on the twelfth of July.

13
00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,240
Speaker 1: The Tasmanian government has announced it will raise the minimum

14
00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:44,720
Speaker 1: age of detention for children from ten to fourteen. In

15
00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,680
Speaker 1: a statement announcing the change, Tasmanian Youth Minister Roger Jans said,

16
00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,200
Speaker 1: we know that detension does not support rehabilitation or reduce

17
00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,880
Speaker 1: the likelihood of reoffending for younger children.

18
00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,279
Speaker 2: An emergency services dispatcher in Buffalo was fired this week

19
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,240
Speaker 2: after an investigation into their handling of the shooting that

20
00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,880
Speaker 2: killed ten people last month. The investigation came after the

21
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,760
Speaker 2: dispatcher yelled at the call for whispering to avoid the

22
00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,119
Speaker 2: gunman's attention and then hanging up.

23
00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,040
Speaker 1: And today's good news. The Sokkers are ninety minutes away

24
00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,840
Speaker 1: from qualifying for the twenty twenty two World Cup in

25
00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,800
Speaker 1: Qatar later this year. Their hopes are still alive after

26
00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,639
Speaker 1: defeating the United Arab Emirates two to one in Qatar.

27
00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,759
Speaker 1: They will now play Peru on Tuesday next week. It's

28
00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,360
Speaker 1: an early start for those who want to watch the game.

29
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,560
Speaker 1: I think it starts at about three thirty am, with

30
00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:41,720
Speaker 1: the winner booking a spot in the World Cup. Zara.

31
00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,880
Speaker 1: One of the big promises that Anthony Albanezi made during

32
00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:47,920
Speaker 1: the campaign and now looks like has delivered is the

33
00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:50,640
Speaker 1: return of the Moura Gap and family to Billa Wheeler.

34
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,160
Speaker 1: Why don't we start this discussion by understanding who the

35
00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,720
Speaker 1: Moura Gap and family is and why they're in the

36
00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:56,520
Speaker 1: news this week.

37
00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,440
Speaker 2: Okay? So in short, there are four people in the

38
00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,160
Speaker 2: mouragap and family who were part of this story. Koppika

39
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,640
Speaker 2: and Tarnica, who were two young girls born in Australia

40
00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,120
Speaker 2: to father Nades and mother Pria, who both fled Sri

41
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,280
Speaker 2: Lanka and arrived in Australia by boat about a decade ago. Now,

42
00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:18,440
Speaker 2: while their asylum applications were being assessed, they received bridging

43
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,880
Speaker 2: visas and moved to the rural town of Bilauila, which

44
00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,320
Speaker 2: is located in central Queensland and was where the two

45
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,720
Speaker 2: daughters were born. In twenty eighteen, the family was taken

46
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,800
Speaker 2: to immigration detention and then to Christmas Island the following year.

47
00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,959
Speaker 2: If we moved to last year to twenty twenty one,

48
00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,880
Speaker 2: the family was moved to Perth. That was after Tarnica

49
00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,880
Speaker 2: suffered a blood infection and they remained in community detention

50
00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,960
Speaker 2: in Perth since then. The previous coalition government, though there

51
00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,520
Speaker 2: were a few people that did support the family returning

52
00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,600
Speaker 2: to Bilo, it didn't actually take that action. But during

53
00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,320
Speaker 2: the election Labour said that they would support the family

54
00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,640
Speaker 2: returning to their home. This is what Prime Minister Anthony

55
00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,519
Speaker 2: Albanizi told TD about the Morrigapam family just days out

56
00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:03,480
Speaker 2: from the election.

57
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:09,320
Speaker 3: And so I, for example, we will settle the family

58
00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:14,959
Speaker 3: back to Billo. That is absurd that these two young

59
00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,760
Speaker 3: girls who were born here and Nada's the father and

60
00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:24,480
Speaker 3: Praya their mum, who are wanted in that local community,

61
00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:26,560
Speaker 3: had been kept from that community.

62
00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,440
Speaker 2: Now, obviously we know that Labour won the election and

63
00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,400
Speaker 2: so yesterday the family finally headed back to Biloh after

64
00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,360
Speaker 2: years and years in detention. They addressed the media outside

65
00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,480
Speaker 2: Perth Airport on Wednesday morning, where they thanked their followers

66
00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,160
Speaker 2: for their support and bid farewell to their temporary home

67
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,520
Speaker 2: in Perth. Priya said that her family was very happy

68
00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,520
Speaker 2: to start their journey back to Billo, giving a heartfelt

69
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,080
Speaker 2: goodbye to her Perth community before boarding the plane.

70
00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,640
Speaker 1: So the family has made their way back to Biloh.

71
00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,040
Speaker 1: But what changed to let them leave the tentionent.

72
00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,120
Speaker 2: So less than a week after Labour's victory at the election.

73
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,080
Speaker 2: Jim Chalmers, who was the interim Home Affairs Minister at

74
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,880
Speaker 2: the time. Remember there were just a few ministers sworn

75
00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,920
Speaker 2: in before Anthony Abenezi jetted off overseas. Jim Charmers used

76
00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,080
Speaker 2: his powers under the Migration Act to let them return home,

77
00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,560
Speaker 2: and this is called a ministerial intervention. The position there

78
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,960
Speaker 2: in now is that they're on a bridging visa, which

79
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,520
Speaker 2: is what the Australian government can grant you in special

80
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,400
Speaker 2: circumstances that lets you stay in the country legally while

81
00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:28,279
Speaker 2: your immigration status can be resolved.

82
00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,040
Speaker 1: But I do remember you saying that Nadez and Priya

83
00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:34,080
Speaker 1: were both granted bridging visas back when they first arrived

84
00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,400
Speaker 1: in Australia, and that didn't actually stop them from being

85
00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,000
Speaker 1: taken from Bilo in the first place. So what's changed.

86
00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,760
Speaker 2: Now, Well, you've just pointed out what the lingering concern

87
00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,880
Speaker 2: is for the family and for the lawyers of the family.

88
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,840
Speaker 2: The nonprofit Asylum Seeker Resource Center, or the ASRC, said

89
00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 2: in a statement following the news that while they welcomed

90
00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:55,960
Speaker 2: the decision, they were concerned that the family was not

91
00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,760
Speaker 2: given permanent protection. So again, they're on bridging visas, but

92
00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,880
Speaker 2: the haven't been given any permanent protections under the law.

93
00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,760
Speaker 2: In a statement, the ASRC described the bridging visas as

94
00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,200
Speaker 2: punitive and said that they give no access to mainstream

95
00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:14,760
Speaker 2: social support and limited access to work, education and medicare.

96
00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,800
Speaker 2: It isn't totally clear to us if or when the

97
00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,320
Speaker 2: more Gap and family will be granted a permanent visa,

98
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,560
Speaker 2: but that should be decided while they're on their bridging visas,

99
00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,440
Speaker 2: which would be turned into a more substantive visa. If

100
00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,240
Speaker 2: their application is successful.

101
00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,440
Speaker 1: Despite them being just on bridging visas, the family will

102
00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,000
Speaker 1: now get to settle back in below. What's next for

103
00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:36,360
Speaker 1: the family, Well.

104
00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,159
Speaker 2: The next major event for the family will be on

105
00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,240
Speaker 2: Sunday when Tarnica celebrates her first birthday outside of detention

106
00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,440
Speaker 2: with a pink party. Tarnica was just nine months old

107
00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,240
Speaker 2: when her family left Bilow, and her fifth birthday will

108
00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,960
Speaker 2: coincide with the town's multicultural festival, which will also take

109
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,760
Speaker 2: place over the weekend, and it's expected a large media

110
00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,640
Speaker 2: presence will be there this year. Her sister Koppika gave

111
00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,320
Speaker 2: her approval of the party, saying that she's excited about

112
00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,719
Speaker 2: Tarnica's party as pink was also her favorite color. Following that,

113
00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,920
Speaker 2: the family will then have to rebuild their lives back

114
00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,599
Speaker 2: in Billow, where they haven't been for a number of years.

115
00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:13,960
Speaker 1: And just finally, what do we know about the number

116
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,480
Speaker 1: of people still in detention in this country?

117
00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,000
Speaker 2: So as of January this year, figures from the Department

118
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,159
Speaker 2: of Home Affairs found that over fifteen hundred people remain

119
00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:27,799
Speaker 2: in immigration detention facilities across Australia. And we know also

120
00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:31,360
Speaker 2: that ninety six percent of detainees are men. There were

121
00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,320
Speaker 2: eleven two hundred and twenty five people in community detention,

122
00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,760
Speaker 2: which is a form of detention that allows asylum seekers

123
00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,200
Speaker 2: to live in the community and to choose where they live.

124
00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,800
Speaker 2: So kind of like what was happening in Perth with

125
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,600
Speaker 2: the more gap and family. Of those, about three quarters

126
00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:49,920
Speaker 2: were men and fourteen percent were children.

127
00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,440
Speaker 1: That's all for today's episode of The Daily Os. If

128
00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,800
Speaker 1: you enjoyed what you heard today, then we'd love a

129
00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:58,120
Speaker 1: review on Spotify or Apple. You can also check us

130
00:06:58,120 --> 00:06:59,960
Speaker 1: out on Instagram at the Daily Os, where we'll be

131
00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,240
Speaker 1: doing the news throughout the day. Until then, we'll speak

132
00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:02,839
Speaker 1: to you tomorrow