While the nation remains fixed on Flemington racecourse this Melbourne Cup Day, two women have used the opportunity to direct attention to a woefully neglected human rights issue in Australia.
On Tuesday, two women climbed a crane at the Melbourne Cup site to unveil a banner calling for asylum seekers to be evacuated immediately from Manus Island.
The banner reads: “SOS: Evacuate Manus now” and was planned by the group Whistle-blowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance.
As the ABC reports, Hannah Patchett and Katherine Woskett abseiled from the crane and remain suspended above the grounds.
WACA spokeswoman Charlotte Lynch told SBS the banner was a protest against the inhumane conditions that have persisted at Manus Island.
“We are joining with others across Australia to demand that the government evacuate the men on Manus immediately and bring them to safety for processing,” Ms Lynch said.
“This is an emergency… we refuse to sit by whilst the Government, with the complicity of the Labor Party, puts over 600 men’s lives at risk.”
The group has also said they are responsible for blocking train tracks with a car on the Flemington Racehorse line.
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