Immigration Minister Alex Hawke yesterday granted permission for the Murugappan family to temporarily live in Perth as the couple’s youngest daughter Tharnicaa recovers from an infection in hospital and the family pursues their ongoing legal appeal. The couple who came to Australia from Sri Lanka and their 2 girls will live under community detention, and will have access to local schools and support services. Hawke said he made the decision on compassionate grounds, but the family’s immigration status has not changed. They are still considered to be ‘unlawful non-citizens’ who were set to be deported before the latest legal challenge was mounted. While the family’s supporters and some MPs have called on the government to let the family resettle in Queensland’s Biloela (where the girls were born), others say granting visas would set a dangerous precedent.