- Two women have hijacked the Melbourne Cup 2017 with Manus refugee protests
- The women scaled a crane at Flemington Racecourse just hours before big race
- Flocks of racegoers were pictured under the crane’s red, white and black sign
Racegoers have been forced to pile out of trains and walk to the Melbourne Cup after protesters hijacked Flemington Racecourse.
While two protesters scaled a crane at the racecourse just hours ahead of the ‘race that stops the nation’, a car was also found parked across train tracks, blocking arriving trains from Flemington.
A car was parked over the train tracks after midday, appearing to block any trains arriving for the Melbourne Cup and forcing racegoers to walk the rest of the journey.
Two protesters scaled a crane at Flemington Racecourse hours before Melbourne Cup kicks off
Metro Trains website has warned racegoers of major delays surrounding the racecourse.
‘Delays up to 20 minutes due to a motor vehicle stopped across rail lines at the Ascot Vale level crossing, police are attending to the issue,’ the website read.
The female protesters were seen abseiling off a crane with a sign that read ‘SOS Evacuate Manus now’ above cup day celebrations in an attempt to draw attention towards the refugees and asylum seekers who have been left on Manus Island.
‘We are joining with others across Australia to demand that the government evacuate the men on Manus immediately and bring them to safety for processing,’ Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (WACA) spokeswoman Charlotte Lynch said.
‘We refuse to sit by whilst the government, with the complicity of the Labor Party, puts of 600 men’s lives at risk.’
The women were spotted at the top of the crane at an entrance to Flemington Racecourse after midday.
While many people are braving the cold Melbourne weather in their frocks to celebrate the ‘race that stops the nation’, the two protesters say they will be ‘suspended from the crane indefinitely’.
The ‘SOS’ sign with red and black writing was spotted draped over the top of the crane.
The protesters shared photos of them on the top of the crane with huge crowds of race goers flocked underneath.