Esperance Nails and Spa proprietor Oanh Ngo with her son Nelson Truong after the took the oath to become Australia Citizens at Esperance Council Chambers on Tuesday. Photo: Geoff Vivian.
They had hoped to be taking their citizenship pledges together, but Esperance Nails and Spa owners Phi Truong and Oang Ngo had different lawyers.
While Oang Ngo appeared at a special court appearance to consider her “safe haven” visa application in Perth, her husband stayed behind to look after their Esperance business.
Their friend Jennifer Obourne explained.
“Phi had a different lawyer who didn’t communicate where he needed to be, on what date, and what time,” she said.
“And then the lawyer also didn’t tell the judge anything in Phi’s defence.
“So that means the judge thought ill of Phi and put a warrant out for his arrest.”
Miss Obourne said this became a “black mark” against Phi Truong’s name as his visa application progressed through the system.
“Staff go ‘too hard’ and keep putting it on the bottom of the pile,” she said.
“The rest of the family continued following the process and got here today to celebrate their Australian citizenship, but because there was that bump in the road with Phi’s situation that’s now a big deal.”
Mr Truong spent almost a year in immigration detention.
“He was assaulted while in there,” Miss Obourne said.
“He had a serious injury to his eye.”
Ms Ngo said they now had the option of sponsoring her husband as an immigrant, but this required him to leave Australia for an unknown period of time when the children and business needed his support.
She said her son was still traumatized by his father’s unexpected absence.
“He wake up middle of night like ‘where daddy? Where daddy? Why daddy away, daddy not love us anymore?’,” she said.
“They can’t live without my husband.
“We don’t want the process to take years and years again.”
Ms Ngo said all of Esperance knew them as the “nail salon family” and they employed up to six people, including three full time and several school girls.
“I think 15 years is long enough to know we’re not a risk,” she said.
Miss Obourne, who is also Esperance deputy Shire President, said they were throwing themselves on the mercy of Immigration minister Tony Burke to intervene personally.
“They’re the perfect immigrant,” she said.
“They assimilated, they speak the language, they own a business, they employ people, they pay taxes, they bought a home, their kids are going to local schools.
“I mean, what more do you want out of an Australian citizen?”
She said the family had huge local support as well as letters of support from Liberal, Nationals and Labor MPs and the Shire.
“We’re just asking for a minister to take the time to look at the file and intervene to keep his family together,” she said.
Weekender contacted Immigration and Home Affairs minister Tony Burke for comment and a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs responded.
“We can’t comment on individual cases due to privacy,” she said.
Mr Truong and Ms Ngo met and married in Australia, having arrived separately as refugees.
Miss Obourne was working as electorate officer for Rick Wilson MHR when she first met the couple.
