World Refugee Rally in Melbourne 2011 Coverage

On World Refugee Day on Sunday June 19th, rallies were held around Australia including in Melbourne. In Melbourne the crowd heard from well known human rights lawyer Julian Burnside. He was quoted on the ABC online as stating:

""If (Ms Gillard) were in that position, what would she do? What would you do? Wouldn't you want to make a run for safety? Wouldn't you want to get your kids to safety, wouldn't you want to do what it takes to get yourself to safety and make sure you have a life," he asked the rally.

"If you got an honest answer from (Tony Abbott) ... he might say that he'd make a dash for it as well, because Tony Abbott, like all of us, has the human impulse for survival and that's what refugees are all about.

"So why do we have to mistreat the people who do nothing more than what we would do if we were unlucky enough to be in their shoes."

Mainstream press coverage of the rally
ABC News 24,
19/6 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/19/3247717.htm

The Age, (p.3)20/6
http://www.theage.com.au/national/un-warning-over-malaysia-asylum-deal-2...

The Herald Sun (online edition)
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/hundreds-attend-melbourne-ref...

Photos by the Refugee Advocacy Network on Facebook