Illawarra community leaders will gather near the Church on the Mall, Wollongong on Saturday to demonstrate their support for refugees.
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The Refugee Action Collective Illawarra (RAC) initiative will see church leaders, trade unionists, academics and other community leaders sign the 'Choose Humane' Pledge.
RAC spokesperson Stephen Spencer hopes this will show politicians there is widespread public support for the Refugee Council of Australia-developed 'Platform for Change'.
The platform calls for ending offshore detention; creating a fair process for people to seek asylum in Australia; ending mandatory detention; increasing our refugee and humanitarian program; and improving our engagement in Asia.
Mr Spencer hopes community leaders will send a clear message to candidates in the federal election that they must advocate for humane policies that treat refugees and asylum seekers like people.
"Whoever wins the election is going to have to resolve the humanitarian crisis on Manus and Nauru," he said.
"This is only worsening with the Medivac procedures not working as intended. The Catholic Bishops Electoral Statement calls for remaining refugees in Manus and Nauru to be resettled in Australia.
"The Choose Humane events in Wollongong and around the country are designed to show that many Australians support this call and want a government that will end the cruelty inflicted in our name by offshore detention."
The public are encouraged to attend the May 11 event from 11am.