A Qantas flight has been delayed due to a protest on board. Source: Getty Images
A QANTAS flight from Melbourne to Darwin has been delayed this morning due to a protest on board.
It’s understood the protesters are from the group, Cross Border Collective, and are linked to refugee activists that disrupted the Australian Open men’s tennis final last night after jumping onto the court at Rod Laver Arena.
Cross Border Collective says on its Facebook site the co-ordinated action and campaign, Hunger for Justice, was organised to express solidarity with detainees on Manus Island, Nauru and in detention in Darwin.
The flight was reportedly delayed by about 50 minutes after several passengers refused to sit down in protest over the recent deportation of a Tamil asylum seeker.
“The passengers refused to follow cabin crew instruction so were offloaded and met by the Australian Federal Police,” a Qantas spokeswoman said.
2 passengers join #Qantas flight protestor to disrupt asylum seeker deportation flight http://t.co/6k60Db4yOD pic.twitter.com/VBA1pm3JFw
— newmatilda (@newmatilda) February 2, 2015 It comes as four activists were arrested after climbing onto the roof of Tony Abbott’s Sydney electorate office. They are believed to be from the same group.
Police were called to Mr Abbott’s electorate office in Manly at about 9am. They found four protesters sitting on the edge of the roof of the three-level building on Sydney Road.
Officers climbed up to talk to the men, who hung a large banner reading “Hunger for Justice” over the side of the building.
One of the protesters, Claire Parfitt, said the protest was to show solidarity with 15 refugees on a hunger strike in Darwin including one man, Martin, who she claimed was close to death. The same group is understood to have disrupted the Australian Open final for at least five minutes, forcing the players off the court, and raising security concerns.
“We have created this international media spectacle today to expose the torture, abuse, and horrific conditions that are being perpetrated on Manus Island,” the group said.
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