An unaffiliated group of Canberra citizens has organized a snap action protest at 12.30pm today outside the Department of Immigration & Border Protection in Braddon to call on the Australian Government bring asylum seekers from Manus Island and Nauru to be processed in the Australian community.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced yesterday that the Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island would close following a Supreme Court decision there ruling it illegal.
The protest today follows a Refugee Action Group Canberra event last night at which 1500 people heard President of the Australian Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs (pictured above) speak about human rights abuses and the Australian Government’s refugee policy. Video of her speech is available here.
A spokesperson for the organisers of today’s snap action, Simon Copland, said the success of the crowd-funded legal challenge in PNG to the detention centre on Manus Island was a huge blow to the Coalition Government’s asylum seeker policy.
“The Manus Island detention centre is not just illegal but utterly inhumane. The Government’s nasty policy has been thrown into turmoil and now is the time to make a change,” he said.
“With this decision we demand that those on Manus and Nauru all be brought to safety, to the Australian mainland, to be processed fairly in the community. It is time we end this brutish policy once and for all and bring them here.”
Where: Outside Department of Immigration & Border Protection, Lonsdale St, Braddon
When: Today, 12:30pm
Speakers: Diana Andel-Rahman, recent Order of Australia Medal recipient and Christina Hobbs, Greens Senate candidate for the ACT.