Asylum-seeker babies to stay in Australia in 'one-off' deal
Thirty-one babies born to asylum-seeker parents in Australia will be allowed to stay in the country in a "one-off" arrangement, the immigration minister said Thursday, stressing the government's hardline stance against boat arrivals "remains in full effect".
Scott Morrison said the babies and their families would not be sent back to the government detention centre on the Pacific island of Nauru while their refugee claims are assessed.
"Along with those 31 babies, I am also allowing their immediate family members to have their protection claims assessed in Australia," Morrison said in a statement.
"This includes their mothers, fathers and siblings. That is, around 80 family members, all of whom are already in Australia having been transferred from Nauru, for the birth of their child."
The minister said his decision was a "special one-off arrangement".
Morrison's comments came just before a federal court rejected an appeal against a decision in October to deny Australian-born baby Ferouz refugee status even though he was delivered in Brisbane's Mater Hospital last year.
Ferouz, whose mother is from Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority, is one of the babies that will benefit from the decision.
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