Chris O'Keefe urges Giles to intervene as tragic train accident leaves mother facing deportation 03:43

Now, there's been an update to what's happened at Carlton train station on Sunday. And when I heard what happened at Carlton train station, my blood ran cold. So if you missed it, I'm sure there wouldn't be too many that have. But anyway, you have a father who momentarily lifted his hands off his twin daughter's pram and he was tapping his Opel card, right? The pram didn't have the brakes on by the looks, rolled down the platform onto the tracks in front of a train.

He dives down to try and save his daughters, the father, and he ends up losing his life, and so does one of his girls. And you've got mum and the twin left to deal with a tragedy that is quite obviously beyond comprehension for us. But listen to this. This is the update. So mum, her name's Poonam Runwal. She now finds herself having to navigate the immigration system to stay in Australia.

So Mrs. Runwal is now confronted by the stark reality that her visa status in Australia is tied to her deceased husband's skilled visa. So they arrived, the Runwals, from India in October of last year, and the father, Anand Runwal, he was on a skilled visa and he was working in IT at North Sydney. So he comes out on a skilled visa and his wife and daughters were listed as dependents.

Now, their status, their visa status, given a nun's death, well, it's now up in the air. Imagine being in her shoes, Mrs. Runwall, dealing with the immense sorrow of losing two loved ones, a child and a husband, while grappling with the uncertainty of your future in a country where you hope to build a life. So surely now is the time for empathy and humanity to prevail over what is bureaucratic rigidity.

Surely our collective consciences, and we can use that to urge Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to intervene immediately and intervene with compassion and humanity. Because surely Poonam Runwal and her daughter deserve the opportunity to stay in Australia if they wish to. They deserve to be able to continue to raise a family and to honour the memory of their husband and father forever.

and daughter and sister by building a future here. It's not about policies and paperwork. It's about recognising the human impact of decisions made in offices like the Department of Immigration far removed from the reality of everyday life. I don't care what the rules are. I don't care what the immigration rules are in this situation. I don't care what the circumstances may be. Mrs. Runewald should get a letter or a phone call from Minister Giles assuring her of her status in Australia.

Because in situations like this, our country must show our true character. We must be kind. We must understand that being kind could make all the difference in Mrs. Runwell's journey toward healing and rebuilding her life. And it will be a long journey. So surely we need to advocate for Mrs. Runwell, this family. We need to advocate for them. Compassion and justice must prevail.

She needs to stay in Australia if she wishes. And if that is her wish, then we must allow it so she can find some peace amidst the storm of her grief.