A 11-year old Australian boy angry that his 10-year-old friend faced deportation from Australia because he has autism expressed his frustration to panellists on the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday night.
Asking the panel a question via video link, Ethan Egart shared the story of his friend, Tyrone, who came to Australia from the Philippines.
“On 27 April our government is going to deport a 10-year-old boy who is perfectly normal in every way,” Ethan said.
“He can read and ride a bike, but he has autism. I went to after-school care with this boy and he can’t speak, but he can use sign language to communicate with us.
“If he can get along with us and we can get along with him, why does he have to leave?”
Tyrone’s mother is a nurse and the government had granted her a skilled working visa, but show host Tony Jones explained, “now the immigration department know he [Tyrone] has got autism, they’re being deported because he may be a burden on the health system here”.
The panellists included the trade minister, Andrew Robb, who is also a former parliamentary secretary to the minister for immigration and multicultural affairs.
Robb told the audience at Melbourne’s Recital Centre that the immigration minister, who is currently Peter Dutton, had the authority to overturn such decisions to deport.
“In 12 months I had quite a lot of these cases [come before me],” Robb said.
“There’s not one where I didn’t allow the young person to stay in this country.
“The department has got a set of rules so that if someone comes into Australia and they bring someone with them … so that they’re not taking advantage, I’m not saying this women is at all … but the department’s got the rules.
“The administrative appeals tribunal has the same rules. The minister has the discretion.”
Guardian Australia has contacted Dutton’s office for comment.
The founder and CEO of the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre, Associate Professor Jane Burns, said Ethan’s questions showed that young people cared about issues such as disability and stigma.
Burns said her eldest son, Angus, had Down’s syndrome and autism.
“He is non-verbal but he gives back to the community because it is about acceptance of disability, supporting those who are vulnerable and supporting families to look after the people that they care about,” she said.
It would be wrong to send Tyrone back to the Philippines, “a country he doesn’t know”, she said.