Newly elected Greens Senator David Shoebridge (pictured top row, far right) also addressed the rally: “No more boat turnbacks, no more offshore detention – let’s make this country decent with a new government,” he said.
“Let’s make sure refugee children and others who want to go to university can go like the rest of us, and can get work, and have a secure pathway to citizenship, and to be a full part of our country.
“Looking out on this crowd gives me enormous hope for where we can take this country. The task is to make this country decent again, to live up to the promise we made when we entered into international agreements to be a place of refuge.
“It’s time to end all temporary protection visas, to end all offshore processing, to not turn around another boat, and for this country to open its arms to the world’s refugees so we can be a decent and fair place. That’s the challenge.”