Small, but passionate groups of refugee supporters at rallies around the North East were thankful for every honk of the horn received from passing cars.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The “honk for refugees” sign got responses from motorists in tradies’ utes to those with National Party stickers on the window.
But the rally at Beechworth on Monday evening, following a similar event in Wangaratta on Friday, was really designed for federal government attention as part of the Australia-wide “let them stay” campaign.
Greens candidate for Indi and Indigo Shire councillor Jenny O’Connor said rural towns would not just quietly accept the High Court’s recent decision to allow 300 refugees to be deported to Nauru.
“We’re doing our bit in Beechworth,” she said.
“If that government won’t listen, then we need to take to the streets … This is just the beginning.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews wrote a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday offering for the state to take “full responsibility for all of these children and their families” before they were sent back to “a life of physical and emotional trauma” in Nauru.
Department of Immigration secretary Mike Pezzullo was critical of the offer when appearing before the Senate estimates on Monday.
He said there would be no point in "yielding to emotional gestures".
"The path (to resettlement) is shut with no exceptions," Mr Pezzullo said.
“There is no compassion in giving people false hope.”
But Ms O’Connor said the issue of resettling refugees had to be one of emotion because turning away children was akin to child abuse.
“There’s a real strong sense of morality in this, politics aside,” she said.
“We have a responsibility to resettle refugees.”
Indigo Shire was declared a “safe haven for refugees” last year after voting to opt into the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa scheme.
The issue was expected to continue to divide opinion in the lead up to the 2016 federal election.
Ms O’Connor stood by the Greens’ policy for on-shore assessment of refugees.
She rejected the federal government’s argument, saying turning back boats to deter others and save drownings was “nonsense”.
“This is all about trying to win votes in marginal seats,” Ms O’Connor said.
“While (the Coalition government) might win votes from the racists, they will lose votes from decent people.”