Hundreds stop traffic in Sydney to demand detention at sea

"My friends in America, they all fight their own demons with Trump, but they all say," My man, your record on human rights is worse than ours, "" he said. .

"We should step back as a country, the lucky country, and say," How can we help? " Do not be afraid."

The popular Anglican priest Gosford and human rights activist, Rod Bower, known for his provocative display panels in churches, told the enthusiastic crowd in Sydney that he was considering getting himself to present to the Senate as independent next year.

Hundreds of people also gathered in Melbourne, where Refugee Action Collective Co-Chair David Glanz said he and others felt like banging their heads against a brick wall.

"You wonder how we can find ourselves in a situation where children resign themselves to die under the supposed protection of the Australian government," he told the crowd of supporters.

"Well, today, I think we can say we are starting to see the cracks in this wall."

The health of asylum seekers in Nauru has grown in recent weeks. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been under immense pressure to bring sick children and their families to Australia.

Mr Morrison said that about 30 people had been taken from Nauru in recent weeks.

"These numbers are down and we will continue to work on that," Morrison told reporters in Sydney.

"We have not sounded the trumpet about it, we just did it and do it as a responsible and compbadionate government should do it."

But refugee lawyer Ian Rintoul criticized Morrison's comments as "spins". He added that the vast majority of evacuations were ordered by the Federal Court or granted by the government following a court action in anticipation of a court decision.

Only a "couple" of families was recently evacuated without legal proceedings, he said, because of the real urgency "where the children are almost dead".

But "the medical crisis that has affected Nauru is not limited to children and their families," he said, adding that a number of adults had also been evacuated during the week elapsed.

"It's quite clear that, whether they admit it or not, the government recognizes that mental health issues are not limited to children." It's the most general argument that we want to argue, "Rintoul said.

Anthony Albanese, Labor MP, said before Saturday's rally that Australia could have solid boundaries "without losing its national soul".

He called on the government to immediately accept an offer from the New Zealand government – initially presented to the Labor Party in 2013 – to accept refugees from these areas.

This can be done without special legislation to prevent those who settle in New Zealand from subsequently settling in Australia, he said.

Rintoul said the rally organizers wanted to send a strong message to the Labor Party to back independent MK Andrew Wilkie's bill to immediately bring all the children still in Nauru and their families to Australia.

"For now, the Labor Party holds the key to getting children and families," Rintoul said.

With the support of the appearing parties, he said that the Labor Party did not have to wait to be in power to "start giving substance" to its political commitment to a humane and compbadionate approach asylum seekers, which would allow refugees to process their requests safely.

with AAP