Heartbroken student who is set to be deported from Australia along with her ill father stuns hosts of The Project with a pitch-perfect song to protest their treatment
- Victorian Year 12 student and school captain faces deportation with her family
- The Immigration department wants to deport the family because her father is ill
- Vanisre Rajasegaran broke into song on TV quoting the lyrics of 'I am Australian'
A star student aspiring to become a rural doctor broke out in song on live TV in the hope her words will reach the ears of authorities as they move to deport her and her family because of her father's illness.
Vanisre Rajasegaran, 18, is school captain at Brauer College in Warrnambool, in south-west Victoria, and will likely be booted from the Australia before her Year 12 exams - seven years after her family arrived in the country.
Appearing on The Project on Wednesday, her father Rajasegaran Manikam spoke about his kidney issues which the Immigration Department rule to be a burden on the health system.
Mr Manikam said his condition has had almost no effect on his life, requiring only the occasional blood test and specialist appointments to stay healthy.
'Apart from that I'm absolutely fine there is no time that I've taken off due to my kidney issues,' he said.
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Mr Manikam has even chosen to opt out of government funded medical treatments and organ donation to avoid burdening the healthcare system.
Ms Rajasegaran appeared to be on the verge of tears as she spoke about her family's sacrifice as they faced deportation in less than two weeks.
'I love it here, I genuinely do,' she said.
Vanisre Rajasegaran, 18, (pictured) is the school captain at Brauer College in Warrnambool and is likely to be deported before her Year 12 exams
'My dad and my mum are very supportive, they've moved here and given up a lot of things and I'm really shattered.
'I want to do my best in my VCE studies and the only way that would be possible is to have some ease that this will all be over soon.'
Ms Rajasegaran said her parents are care workers for the young and elderly and significantly contribute to the community.
'At the end of the day it is what a person can offer that we have to look at,' she said.
After talking about the sacrifices her parents had made by travelling to Australia she then began to sing quoting the lyrics of the song 'I am Australian' - Pictured with her father Rajasegaran Manikam
The teenager said she would like to give a message to Immigration and Citizenship Minister David Coleman as they plead for ministerial intervention on their deportation.
Reciting a section of the iconic 1987 song I Am Australian, she began to sing.
'We are one and we are many and from all the lands on earth we come, we share a dream and sing with one voice I am you are we are Australian,' she sang.
When she finished her stirring rendition, The Project host Waleed Aly said in jest: 'If only you had some talent to contribute to the country.'
Ms Rajasegaran gave an impassioned plea in her petition to Mr Coleman that has collected nearly 14 thousand signatures in two days.
'I am a school captain at Brauer College in Year 12 and have only 3 more months till finishing my VCE and my brother is 8 years old who is in grade 2 at Warrnambool East primary school,' it read.
Ms Rajasegaran (left) said her mother Premawathy Balasupramaniam (right) and father Rajasegaran Manikam (left) significantly contribute to the community
The 18-year-old explained how her brother was 18-months-old when he arrived in Australia and only knows the Australian way of life.
'Immigration as they believe my father is a threat to the Australian community due to his health condition. However, my family and I have so much more to offer as we are genuine contributors to our community in country Victoria, Warrnambool,' she said.
The family arrived in Australia from Singapore in 2013 and originally lived in Melbourne.
In 2015, Vani's parents moved to Warrnambool to take up new jobs in the rural town.
As well as Vani's school leader role, she has also represented Victoria in a Country to Canberra program designed to empower rural women to take up leadership positions where she met Senator Bridget McKenzie and Scott Morrison.
The family has already appealed to the Administrative Appeals' Tribunal but this was dismissed and they received a letter saying their temporary visa expires on August 21 meaning their final hope lies in ministerial intervention from Mr Coleman.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Coleman's office for comment.
The family's final hope lies in ministerial intervention from Citizenship and Immigration Minister David Coleman
