About 200 refugees marched from the Department of Home Affairs in the Docklands area to the Australian Labor Party headquarters on August 12.
They were demanding permanent visas for about 10,000 refugees, currently living here on bridging visas which have to be renewed periodically, usually every six months.
Refugees have been camping outside the Department of Home Affairs for several weeks and, before that, outside the then minister for home affairs, Clare O'Neil MP’s Oakleigh office.
Rathi Barthlote, a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka, told people about how Sri Lanka’s persecution of Tamils forced many to flee to Australia by boat.
She also spoke about the stress of living on a temporary visa, causing her constant anxiety, for more than a decade. She compared it to living in an “open prison”.
Labor has been “ignoring us”, Barthlote said, adding: “We refuse to wait for another election”.
[Supporters are welcome to visit the encampment at 808 Bourke St, Docklands.]