I don’t know how to thank you. In under 24 hours, good-hearted Australians have already chipped in $69,000 to help me keep this family safe.

I still have every hope we can bring this family straight back home from Christmas Island to the safety of Biloela. If that happens, I can donate every cent for rural Australians doing it tough.

On Wednesday, I was amazed when the guards detaining this family on Christmas Island let me walk straight past them and give Priya a hug. We held each other for ages, sobbing. The girls ran up and held onto my legs.

I can’t bear the thought of what could happen to our little Biloela “cockatoos” if Mr Dutton pushes ahead with his plan to force them back to war-torn Sri Lanka.

Please - can you chip in now to help me increase this beautiful family’s safety?

The Sri Lankan security forces are known for inflicting the most horrific forms of abuse. Tamil people forced back to this troubled island are routinely arrested the moment they step off the plane.

There’s no way I can expose this family to that risk. So yesterday, we began reaching out individuals and organisations with expertise in human rights monitoring and peaceful accompaniment.

For reasons of safety, I can’t go into details. But if Mr Dutton is allowed to press ahead with his plan to force this family from Australia to danger, we’ll need the funds to swing into action immediately.

The truth is that the only way to guarantee this family’s safety is to get them straight home from Christmas Island to Biloela.

And if that happens, I will make sure that every last cent in this emergency fund is donated to charities working hard to support rural Australians.

Just imagine what an incredible “win-win” that would be for this family and for rural Australia.

Always hopeful,

Angela

PS If you’ve already chipped in, thank you - and please keep sharing this.