The high-profile story of the deportation of the Sri Lankan Murugappan family has reminded us of the perennial tension between compassion, emotional manipulation and an effective immigration program. The family of four has lost numerous court battles to remain in Australia.

In contrast, another related but less known case has been unfolding with Behrouz Boochani, who the New Yorker recently profiled as, extraordinarily, “one of Australia’s most celebrated writers”.