Australian protesters abseil down Parliament House, dye fountain red

Protesters campaigning against the Australian government's treatment of asylum seekers have breached parliament security for a second day.

After protesters forced a suspension of yesterday's question time in Australian parliament, today they breached security at Parliament House in Canberra with two protesters abseiling down the building, unfurling a banner saying "close the bloody camps now".

Australia sends asylum seekers who arrive by boat to offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. The government believes the policy prevents deaths at sea, and it is supported also by the Labour opposition, but critics argue it is inhumane. The issue has highly polarised public sentiment, with the majority agreeing with the government's position.

On Thursday, 13 more demonstrators held placards in a pond they dyed red to symbolise blood.

The protest banners on Thursday called for an end to offshore detention and the controversial policy of boat turnbacks. The demonstration lasted about two hours.

The same protest group, Whistleblowers Activists and Citizens Alliance, was responsible for forcing the suspension of parliament for 40 minutes on Wednesday.

In heated scenes, the group of about 30 demonstrators shouted the detention policy was "separating families" and "killing innocent people".

Security guards used hand sanitiser to remove six protesters who glued their hands to railing in the public gallery.

"We are here today because you have become world leaders in cruelty," the protesters said.

Last month, the Australian government rejected a human rights report comparing its asylum seeker camp on Nauru to an open-air prison.