Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table a petition that has been through the Standing Committee on Petitions regarding the permanent residency of Ms Eunsil, or Chloe, Park. The principal petitioner is Mark Illingworth.

The petition read as follows—

To The Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition is from persons who reside in the Federal Electorates of Moreton and Forde and surrounding areas.

Draws to the attention of the House: That a Korean mother, Ms Eunsil (Chloe) Park and five year old Australian citizen daughter, Ari Illingworth, are being forced to separate because the Department of Immigration and Border Protection is deporting the Mother on 5th June 2014. It is not in the interest of the child to remain here in Australia without her mother, nor for the child to be made live in a strange country (Korea) as a non-citizen.

The mother has been in Australia for eight years and has been gainfully employed for three years, paying taxes and bills, while integrating into Australian society. The interests of the child are not served unless the mother and child remain together in Australia as a family.

The undersigned, therefore ask the House of Representatives to: Support granting permanent Australian residency to Ari's Korean Mother, thus keeping the family together here in Australia and giving this five year old the opportunity she is entitled to as an Australian citizen.

Further: If the House is serious about its commitment of caring for its people and in the interest of the people and in this case a loving Mother and Australian born child, then it must support this petition to grant permanent Australian residency. We have until the 30th May 2014 for commonsense to prevail.

from 1,684 citizens

Petition received.

The story here is one that has been covered in The Courier Mail and also on the front page of my local Quest papers. This is a joint ticket petition put forward by me and the member for Forde. The member for Forde's constituent is Mark Illingworth, the grandfather of Ari. Ari and her mother, Chloe, live in my electorate of Moreton. Chloe is a Korean mother who had a relationship with Mark Illingworth's son. Unfortunately that relationship ended. Ari is their child. They are not married. Chloe was going to be deported and obviously Ari would go to Korea even though she is an Australian citizen. We are asking the immigration minister Scott Morrison to consider their request to let Ari's mother stay in Australia and be granted permanent Australian residency.