Australian Women Protest Against High Court Decision On Refugees

Two female protesters scaled the 162 metre high Melbourne Art Centre spire on Friday. According to local media, the women scaled the spire at 3:30 am local time, unfurling a banner reading 'Let them stay'. They meant to protest against Australia's High Court decision rejecting a legal test case that challenged its right to deport 267 refugee children and their families. The refugees had been brought from Nauru, about 3,000 km northeast of Australia, for medical treatment. The number of asylum seekers trying to reach Australia is small in comparison with those arriving in Europe. But under its tough immigration policies, anyone intercepted trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. They are never eligible to be resettled in Australia.