Refugee activists have used parliament as a stage for dramatic protests to demand closure of offshore detention centres for the second day in a row.
On Thursday, two climbers from the Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (Waca) abseiled down the edifice of Parliament House, while others stood in the waters of the fountain, dyed red to represent blood, carrying signs calling for the camps’ closure.
On the same day parliament approved changes to increase security, after Waca activists interrupted question time on Wednesday, with some gluing their hands to furniture to delay being dragged out of the lower house by security staff.
Protesters in the fountain carried signs criticising the Liberals as “world leaders in cruelty” and the Labor party for providing “no opposition to cruelty”.
Two professional climbers hung from parliament with the main banner that read “Close the bloody camps now #justiceforrefugees”, one of whom was involved in the group’s protest at the Melbourne Arts Centre in February, where they scaled the landmark spire, as part of Let Them Stay protests.
The parliament protest started at 8:30am and lasted about two hours.
In a statement the Australian Federal Police said the two abseilers ended their protest after negotiations with police, which onlookers could hear included a threat to cut them down.
It said the two abseilers will be summonsed to appear before court. Those in the pond came out of their own accord and were asked to move on.
Speaking at the protest, Waca spokesman Phil Evans said the action “continues the call for urgent action on refugees”, including closing offshore detention camps and bringing all refugees and asylum seekers in them to Australia.
Evans confirmed no charges were laid over Wednesday’s protest, nor were the group given paperwork banning them from the parliamentary precinct.
Asked about their treatment by security on Wednesday, he said it was “fine ... and pales in comparison to the treatment of people on Manus Island and Nauru” who are being “tortured raped and abused”.
The Greens senator Lee Rhiannon attended the protest and gave a gift of chocolates to the activists. Asked about the appropriateness of the protest, she noted it was non-violent and argued “they should be here”.
“The problem lies with the human rights abuses, the mental health problems, the anguish. We’re breaking our international obligations … that’s where the laws are being broken.
“These people are courageous, they are showing what the parliament should do.”
Rhiannon said she only found out about the protest an hour ago, in effect denying any coordination between the Greens and protesters.
Over the last three years offshore detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru have been plagued by reports of shocking conditions, poor management and deteriorating mental health of asylum seekers.
The Guardian’s publication of the Nauru files showed the devastating trauma and abuse inflicted on children on Nauru.
An asylum seeker was beaten to death by guards in a wave of unrest on Manus Island in February 2014, and on Nauru in May 2016 an asylum seeker self-immolated in front of staff from the UN high commissioner for refugees.
On Thursday in a radio interview with 2GB, Malcolm Turnbull criticised refugee protesters who disrupted question time, accusing them of “denying democracy”.
“And it tells you a lot about the Greens party in particular that they praised them. Imagine that, they praise people who interfere with democracy who wanted to shut down the parliament.”
On Thursday parliament approved a security upgrade including fencing off the sloped lawns leading up to the roof of parliament.
Turnbull said erecting a glass barrier in front of the public gallery would be considered but he was personally “very reluctant” to do so.
He said it would interfere with the sense parliament was the people’s house, and suggested instead that security should “do a better job of checking who is coming in and more quickly moving out if they do the wrong thing”.
Turnbull said he was surprised no charges had been laid over Wednesday’s protest, but that was a matter for the police.
“There’s got to be a strong message sent that if you want to come into this place and disrupt the people’s house in that way, then there has to be a very strong message sent that that is not acceptable.”