Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and conservative rival Tony Abbott were both raucously heckled by refugee advocates on Saturday as Australia voted in a general election.
In south Sydney, a group of protesters tried to block the path of the poll favourite opposition leader, screaming: “Refugees welcome, Abbott is not”.
Security men intervened and ushered Abbott safely through the jostling crowd and into his car, cutting short a visit to the safe Labor seat of Barton.
The demonstrators included Labor supporters, refugee advocates, and backers of an independent candidate, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Several refugee advocates also yelled at Rudd when he tried to cast his vote in Brisbane amid chaotic scenes when he showed up unannounced at a polling booth in a church, an AFP photographer said.
“Free the Refugees, End mandatory detention,” read one placard referring to the government policy of detaining all asylum-seekers who arrive by boat.