Protestors stage a sit-in over the detention of asylum seeker children.
Protestors stage a sit-in over the detention of asylum seeker children. Photo: Aaron Bunch







Police have arrested 11 church leaders and members who staged
a sit-in at the electoral office of Julie Bishop to protest what they
call the "cruel" treatment of children in immigration detention centres.



The peaceful protest began at 10am, with staff at the electoral office immediately calling the Australian Federal Police.




The first AFP vehicle arrived at the office, on the corner of
Rokeby and Nicholson roads, at 10.30am and was quickly followed by
another two AFP and five WA Police vehicles.





Outside Julie Bishop's Perth electorate office.
Outside Julie Bishop's Perth electorate office. Photo: Liam Ducey






The protest follows similar action last month in Sydney when
nine Christians held a prayer vigil at the office of Immigration
Minister Scott Morrison's.




Several protestors were arrested after refusing to move on and later faced court, where charges were dismissed.



Jarrod McKenna was one of the protesters arrested in Sydney and he has again been arrested along with 10 other protesters.





Protestors and supporters.
Protestors and supporters. Photo: Aaron Bunch






All have been charged with trespassing and are currently in custody at the Perth police station.



A spokeswoman for the protesters, Kris Kingwell, said there
was an element of a media stunt to the protest and it was the best way
to bring attention to the issue.



"Everyone in the office was fully prepared and expecting to be arrested," she said.



"This is about the 1138 children being indefinitely detained for no reason.



"This is the beginning of holy week, we have Easter coming up and this makes us think about some big issues.



"It's to draw attention to the cruelty of our policies.



"This is how society works, you need to be able to in some
way get your message out, so yes there is an element of media stunt but
this is a way people can access our message."



Ms Bishop's spokeswoman Stephanie Vanicek said there would be no comment on the incident. She added Ms Bishop was overseas.