It seems to me there is an obvious solution for the Biloela Tamil family who are facing imminent deportation: they should be allowed to apply for one of the new regional visas.

They seem like ideal candidates because they already live in a rural community who clearly want them to stay. Letting them apply would not be a special exception for boat arrivals—and would not change our hardline border policies—it would just be dealing with them just like any other foreigner. The government's rhetoric about consequences to allowing exceptions doesn't ring true to me: where is the exception in treating everyone the same?