Baxter Protests

During the Easter weekends of 2003 and 2005 several hundred protesters went to the Baxter Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, located near Port Augusta to protest against the Howard Government's treatment of asylum seekers.
The protests were in the tradition of the 'great protest march'. Protesters arrived at Port Augusta from all over Australia. In many cases the protesters would have travelled for two to four days to make the trip and would travel another two to four days in return. The protest would last the long weekend of Easter in a camp near the detention centre.
In both years, there was a significant amount of news media coverage of the event. There remained considerable complaints from both sides. The protesters alleged that the police had been heavy-handed. The police alleged that the protesters were actively attempting to turn a peaceful protest into a violent protest by continued breaches of the law.
The 2003 protest
The 2003...