'Deportation equals death': Refugee protestors scale Channel 7 Melbourne building

A number of protestors have scaled the Channel 7 building in Melbourne unfurling a banner in support of refugees with a very clear message – “Deportation = Death”.

The five men from the Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (WACA) remain on the roof of the Docklands building but made it very clear they were not targeting 7 News, rather displaying the banner in direct eyeline of the Border Force building across the road.

Back on the ground, activist Sam Castro told Sunrise they were taking the drastic action because they couldn't rely on politicians nor the legal system to help those seeking asylum.

“They [Border Force] want to operate out of Customs House without people knowing, this is where they controlled what happens on Manus and Nauru," Ms Castro told Sunrise.

“Channel 7 itself is not a target of the action, rather the Channel 7 building is in a direct line of sight of the Border Force headquarters in Customs House, where operational matters in Manus Island and Nauru refugee detention camps are managed,” WACA said in a statement.

A second protest has since emerged outside the Border Force building, holding a sign that reads: “Close the bloody camps now #Justice4refugees”.

Ms Castro told 7 News she was not allowed to go near the Border Force building after she was arrested about a month ago for previous protests out the front of the building.

“We can’t rely on the politicians, nor on the legal system that has been effectively bypassed,” Ms Castro added in a statement.

"It is up to us to act to stop business as usual until the government closes the camps and safely re-settles the people it has illegally detained and tortured.

“There will be no justice and no business as usual for the government and their private contractors, until the asylum seekers and refugees held as political prisoners in Australia’s immigration detention centres are safely resettled."

She said the five people on the roof had safely climbed onto the Channel 7 building and planned on staying there for as long as it would take to get their message across.

It remains unclear how the group got on top of the building with Ms Castro saying it would be “giving away trade secrets” to reveal how the protestors gained access to the roof.