Australian migrant protestor dies from burns

SYDNEY, Australia -- A Pakistani-born man who set himself on fire outside Australia's federal parliament last month in protest over immigration policies has died in hospital.

Shahraz Kayani died on Sunday from complications he suffered as a result of the burns on his body.

Kayani set himself on fire after immigration authorities rejected his application to bring his family to Australia because one of his daughters was disabled with cerebral palsy.

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock expressed his sorrow for the death but said he was satisfied with how the case was handled.

"The way in which the matter was dealt with was conditioned by the applications in which Mr Kayani applied," Ruddock told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"The timing would have been very different if he had of applied in the categories in which he would have accepted some responsibility for expenses associated with his family entry."

Kayani's family has called on the Immigration Department to show more compassion when assessing family reunion cases.