Hobsons Bay mayor Sandra Wilson will join the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees on April 9.
“I look forward to walking with others who are proud to live in a community that has always been welcoming to refugees,” Cr Wilson said.
“Our diversity and mix of cultures is what makes Hobsons Bay such a great place to live and we have always been a community that welcomes, cares for and supports refugees.
“I join the call of Australia’s international aid organisations, community organisations and our local community in calling on our federal government to put in place more compassionate solutions that improve the rights and protect refugees seeking asylum on our shores.
“That is why I will be proudly walking alongside our community this weekend.”
Hobsons Bay council is a signatory to the Joint Statement by Victorian Local Governments on Asylum Seekers and the Refugee Welcome Zone declaration.
Other local groups to march will include the Hobsons Bay Refugee Network (HBRN) and Gellibrand Grandmothers Against Detention Of Refugee Children.
Grandmothers’ member and Williamstown resident Joan Lynn said the group had deep concerns about the effect of long-term detention, particularly on children and those left on Manus and Nauru.
“How can we ignore the fact that there are so many men and women and more than 160 children spending their fourth year in detention without hope for their future,” Ms Lynn said.
“These are vulnerable people fleeing for their lives who turned to us for asylum.
“We believe it is vital that these people are brought to a safe haven now.”
HBRN co-founder, Williamstown’s Ann Morrow, urged others to join the walk.
“It is hard for those who feel compassion towards refugees – fleeing from terrors that most Australians can’t even imagine in their worst nightmares – to understand the apparent indifference of most of our political leaders,” she said.
“We lobby, we plead, we harangue, and we write until we feel our hands are dropping off.
“Marching with like-minded people on Palm Sunday re-energises us and reminds us that we must keep on protesting against the inhumane policies of our government until those policies change. As they will.”
Organised by the Refugee Council of Australia, this year’s walk is expected to top last year’s attendance of about 15,000 people.
It starts 2pm Sunday at the State Library.
