A Brisbane father says he is concerned for his eight-month-old son, whose Vietnamese mother faces deportation from Australia.
Lisa Le, 30, has been refused permanent residency after Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash decided it was not in the public interest to intervene and grant her a partner visa to stay in the country.
Ms Le, who is separated from her Australian husband, David Nguyen, has been told she must leave the country by June.
However, Mr Nguyen has called on Senator Cash to change her mind.
"I don't think my son deserves to be without a father," he said.
"My son doesn't deserve to be in the third world country, plus he is Australian, he deserves to stay here, he deserves to have a family and she should have a visa to stay back here."
Policy 'change' on visas unannounced
Angus Francis from the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service says the rights of the child are not being considered, and that the number of similar cases is worrying.
"Usually, in the past, the Minister would intervene," he said, adding that he had seen 10 cases like Ms Le's in recent weeks.
"So, it appears to be there has been a change of policy, there hasn't been a formally announcement of that policy, but we have seen a number of cases now where there has been issues with this."
Senator Cash says it would be inappropriate and unhelpful to comment on Ms Le's case. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-18/father-david-ngugen-fears-deportation-of-baby-vietnamese-mothe...
This cracked me up, did you know we had a Prime Minister for Women?
