As our petition passed 48000 signatures yesterday I received the wonderful news that Kinley and his family are safe until early July as they have been given a 3 month bridging visa pending the decision by the Immigration Minister on whether or not ministerial discretion will be used to grant them permanent residency.  It is clear that the sum of all the pressure brought by the supporters for our cause through the Union movement, national bodies working in the areas of deafness, ethnic communities, disability, and of course our petition have caused the Minister to blink in this instance given the unwanted media attention our campaign has gathered so near to the election. Rest assured, our petition will remain very much alive throughout the election period, continuing  collecting signatures and the campaign will be ready to ramp up again once the next Immigration Minister is confirmed.

Meanwhile, keep on sharing the petition and reminding your local politicians about Kinley and his family’s situation as the deadline for their  deportation is only postponed, not permanently removed. 

Our photo today features some of the attendees at the rally in Sydney yesterday.