Six people protesting against the mandatory detention of asylum seeker children have been arrested for staging a sit-in at a Tasmanian senator’s office.<\/p>\n
The protesters, from Christian group Love Makes A Way, had been holding prayer vigils at Senator David Bushby’s office since just after midday.<\/p>\n
They called on the senator to withdraw his support for the mandatory detention of children and refused to leave when his office closed at 5:00pm.<\/p>\n
They were then arrested and charged with trespass before being granted bail.<\/p>\n
Among the protesters were leaders from Anglican, Baptist and Uniting Churches and the Salvation Army.
\n……
\nIn a statement released prior to the protest said the protesters included Reverend Richard Humphrey, who is Dean of St David’s Anglican Cathedral, David Reeve, who is chairperson of Presbytery of Tasmania, Uniting Church, and Captain Craig Farrell, who is territorial youth secretary of The Salvation Army Southern Territory.<\/p>\n
Last year, the group staged similar protests in Launceston and Perth, Western Australia, when they staged sit-ins at the offices of Andrew Nikolic and Julie Bishop respectively.<\/p>\n
The eight ministers involved in the Perth sit-in were charged with trespass and given spent sentences.<\/p>\n