New Zealanders stuck in Australian detention centres say more than 100 Kiwis have joined a mass hunger strike against conditions and long delays.
While not in prison, the Australian detention centres 154 New Zealanders deemed unsuitable for Australia are held in are far from freedom.
- The 'easy' solution to Kiwis in detention centres: 'Go home' - Jason Morrison
- Kiwis in Australian detention centres face being moved from families - lawyer
- Exclusive: 'A new low' as Kiwi teen held in Aussie detention centre against UN protocol
Joining a hunger strike, detainees are fighting against their deportation and inhumane conditions they are desperate to see changed.
"This is the level we have to take it to for someone to understand the conditions we're living under. They're not even right for a canine," said Kiwi detainee Alvin Tuala.
Alvin Tuala is in Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA) North, Australia's newest facility - but the shared rooms resemble prison, with toilets doubling as a sink and with little privacy.
"They systematically build these detention centres so that no one wants to stay here to fight their cases," said Mr Tuala.
It's part of the reason those at MITA in Melbourne have gone without food for more than a week and an estimated 70 Kiwis are among them.
Kiwi Lee Barber, who is at Yongah Hill where a hunger strike began on Monday, says they have the numbers and are "gonna go all the way".
Many are also separated from loved ones, held thousands of kilometres from family and friends.
"Mate, it gets me emotional that I can't see my family," said Mr Barber.
An Australian Border Force official visited Yongah Hill on Tuesday night to hear complaints from detainees.
But Newshub's obtained a leaked recording in which they were told little will change.
"I don't think I can do very much at all... these demands are not realistic," the border force official tells a detainee with a list of demands.
Despite that bleak assessment, they say they'll strike as long as it takes.
Newshub.
