The Australian Greens have congratulated doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals for taking a strong stand against children in detention today.

"I left medicine to go into politics for the exact same reason that these health workers are making a stand today: we've got to fix the factors that make people sick. By locking up innocent people, denying them decent medical care and stripping them of all hope we are actively creating harm," said Greens Leader Dr Richard Di Natale.

The Australian Greens have launched a ‘Books of Hope’ drive today, calling for people all around the country to donate children’s books for refugee families in Manus Island and other detention centres.

“These children are living in terrible conditions and we need to do anything we can to improve their situation,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

A young mother named Ranjini who is facing indefinite detention in Australia has given birth to her third child; another innocent new-born who will be detained despite having committed no crime.

“What should be a joyous time for Ranjini and her family is no doubt tinged with despair as she knows her children face unreasonable and lengthy detention,” the Greens immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The huge cost of the Gillard Government’s offshore detention policy, which remains a mystery because of the deliberate obfuscation of the total expense, hasn’t been solved in today’s MYEFO announcement according to the Australian Greens.

 “Despite the Government admitting to a $1.2 billion blowout in the cost of implementing their immigration policy, the actual expense to the Australian tax payer remains a mystery,” Greens immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Parliament needs to change the law to ensure that a recently announced independent review function for refugees with adverse security assessments achieves its aims, the Australian Greens said.

 “Today I have written to the Attorney General’s office offering the Greens’ assistance in passing legislation that would enshrine the independent review process for refugees with adverse ASIO assessments in law” Australian Greens spokesperson for immigration, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens say figures released for World Refugee Day today put Australia's share of the global challenge into perspective.

"On World Refugee Day, the Greens renew their call for a fair go for refugees," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.

"Today we give thanks for generations of refugees who have helped improve Australia in a myriad of ways including our cultural, foods, sport, education and business worlds.

The Australian Greens will today give notice they will introduce a bill to amend the ASIO Act, thereby restoring basic procedural fairness to refugees who are detained indefinitely because of the agency's powers.

"We're taking this action in the Senate because regardless of the decision of the High Court challenge which gets underway today, the law will have to be changed," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.

Australians will attend rallies across the country today and tomorrow for World Refugee Day (officially June 20) in support of a fairer go for refugees.

"The Australian Greens are working to put time limits on detention into legislation, because we know the current system is causing easily preventable mental and physical damage to already fragile people," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.

The Australian Government must urgently move 18 Indonesians who claim they are minors out of adult prisons and into appropriate facilities while their cases are being reviewed, the Australian Greens said today.

"If you think they might be children, get on with it and get them out of adult prisons now and into facilities appropriate for children," Greens' immigration and youth affairs spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.

Desperate people will keep risking everything they have and flee for Australia via leaky boats if they feel they have no other alternative because of limited protection options, the Australian Greens said today.

"In the rush to punish people smugglers, we mustn't lose sight of the bigger picture and the causes that force people to run for their lives," Greens' immigration spokesperson, Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young, said.