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Priya and Nadesalingam and their Australian-born daughters Kopika and Tharunicaa.Credit:Photo:Twitter/@HometoBilo

The family's deportation has been temporarily delayed after lawyers secured an injunction until Wednesday,having argued that the youngest daughter's protection case had not been properly assessed by the government. The charter flight bound for Sri Lanka was forced to land in Darwin. The family was then moved to the Christmas Island detention centre on Friday night.

Mr Joyce has joined an unlikely grouping of people expressing sympathy for the family,following appeals from conservative broadcaster Alan Jones and the Labor Party.

"The people of Biloela seem to be pretty enthused about keeping this family there. I think we should also be listening to them,"Mr Joyce,a former Nationals leader,said.

"A family that’s not making the traffic more difficult in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane,that are working in a regional area doing jobs that other people may not be willing to do,that are well supported by their local community.

"So it would seem to suggest they are being good citizens and should be given due consideration but I’m certainly not here to tell the minister how to do his job. That won’t help their cause at all."

The family has had their asylum claims denied despite appeals that went all the way to the High Court. They were detained in March 2018 after Priya's bridging visa expired.

The charter flights being used to move the family are provided by a company called Skytraders,which has a three-year contract with the Department of Home Affairs worth $78 million.

The flights around Australia,using a large passenger jet,are conservatively estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars. A flight to Colombo in Sri Lanka would likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On Saturday,refugee advocates said thefamily was distressed and the children were "constantly crying".

A spokesman for the department said the family's applications for protection in Australia had been"comprehensively assessed"by the department and other bodies.

"The family has consistently been found not to be owed protection,"she said.

"Unlawful non-citizens are only removed if the department is satisfied they do not engage Australia’s non-refoulement obligations and that removal would not breach Australia’s international obligation."

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Immigration Minister David Coleman are being urged to use the ministerial discretion power to allow the family to stay.

Nationals MP Ken O'Dowd,whose electorate covers Biloela,is believed to be supportive of the family and to have made representations on their behalf. He could not be reached for comment.

Jones,generally sympathetic to Coalition policy,said the actions against the family were"shameful"and urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to personally intervene.

"The Prime Minister needs to understand that we should be encouraging refugees like Priya and Nades to move to regional centres where you can't easily find workers. Let them stay,"he said on Saturday.

Former opposition leader Bill Shorten,now Labor's spokesman on the national disability insurance scheme,said the government should let them stay

"The Biloela community wants these people ... The two little girls are born in australia,"he said.

"The bush is crying out for good people who want to be hard working."

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