There have been more than a dozen protests across Australian cities and regional centres on Sunday calling for the release of all asylum seekers in detention, and permanent protection for those on temporary or bridging visas
The Palm Sunday marches coincided with the , with demonstrators using the opportunity to call for a policy shift towards a "fairer" refugee program.
"Today is an opportunity to publicly raise our voices to say we are asking for the Australian Government to show fairness to refugees and people seeking asylum," said Frances Rush, the CEO of the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney.
"We believe many people in Australia want a fairer response to people seeking asylum ... an end to offshore processing and to really increase our humanitarian intake."
"We've seen some movement from the Australian government, but we want a lot more and we know the community wants a lot more."
The federal budget released at the end of March keeps Australia's annual refugee intake at and also for the following four years of the forward estimates.
In the budget, the federal government also announced a special intake of 16,500 additional humanitarian places for Afghan nationals. The government has resettled some 5,000 Ukrainians since the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
The rallies in Australia come as the well-known Melbourne Park Hotel detention centre was emptied.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) reported that , as part of a group of 20 granted bridging visas.
The Park Hotel captured the world’s attention in January, when World No.1 tennis star Novak Djokovic was temporarily detained.
The last remaining refugee woman in Sydney's Villawood Immigration Detention Centre was also released.
Sunday's rally in Melbourne celebrated the closure of the Park Hotel, but also called for permanent visas to be granted to those living in "limbo" on bridging or temporary visas.
"This is a small celebration for those released, but it is not over until they are all released," said Pamela Curr from the ASRC in Melbourne.
The last remaining immigration detainees were released from Melbourne's Park Hotel on Thursday. Credit: AAP
According to the ASRC, 250 people have been released from onshore detention since December 2020, but 10 still remain.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says 10 refugees remain in Australian detention centres while nearly 200 remain in offshore centres on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.
"After almost a decade of refugee torture, it’s clear the appalling period is coming to an end,” said refugee advocate Craig Foster.
“Still, around 217 [people] are suffering offshore in PNG and Nauru when it’s obvious to all Australians they should all be released immediately. We call on [Immigration Minister] Karen Andrews and the Morrison Government to do the right thing in our name and let them go."
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told SBS News the "Australian Government remains committed to its strong border protection policies, including regional processing in Nauru."
"These policies have successfully stemmed the flow of illegal maritime ventures to Australia, disrupted people smuggling activities in the region and prevented loss of life at sea."
"Many individuals are pursuing resettlement in the United States, Canada, or the newly available ."
The Refugee Council of Australia said once those arrangements are taken into consideration, there still remains 505 people in the immigration detention system across Nauru, PNG and Australia.
