Asylum baby Asha will be sent to island detention camp, minister warns

The baby girl at the heart of the row over Australia’s seemingly harsh immigration policies will be sent to live on an island offshore camp. Year-old Asha, whose plight sparked a wave of protests across the country, will be sent with her parents to Nauru, some 1,800 miles off the north-east coast. "I couldn’t be any clearer - once the medical assistance has been provided and the legal issues resolved, people will go back to Nauru,“ said Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Asha has been released from hospital in Brisbane care following treatment to burns.

We are not going to allow people smugglers to get out a message that if you seek assistance in an Australian hospital, that somehow that is your formula to becoming an Australian citizen.

Peter Dutton, immigration minister

Asha will now stay with her family, including her mother, in community detention. An immigration officer will monitor the family and their movements will be restricted. Doctors had refused to release her citing a duty of care, fearing that should she be shipped to Nauru her health would be at risk. Asha’s case has crystalised debate in the country over its stance to asylum seekers.

It’s been an emotional few days for the family. They are relieved and thankful that they aren’t languishing on Nauru or locked up in a detention centre.

The family’s lawyer Daniel Webb

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