Detained Australia Immigrants Break Free of Darwin Complex, Hold Protest

More than 70 detainees seeking asylum in Australia escaped from an immigration detention center in the northern city of Darwin and held a protest outside the complex over conditions and treatment.

Police and staff are negotiating for the detainees to return inside, a spokesman from the Department of Immigration said without giving further details.

The escape came as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who wants to establish a regional center for asylum seekers, vied with opposition leader Tony Abbott to form a government. Abbott pledged to stop the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat and to open a center on the island of Nauru.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gemma Daley in Canberra at gdaley@bloomberg.net

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