Three asylum seekers have begun their second week on the roof of a Sydney detention centre as the government defended its handling of the stalemate.
Two Kurds and an Iranian have been on top of Villawood Detention Centre since 100 inmates rioted seven days ago, setting fire to nine buildings.
Refugee activists say food is being withheld from the men, who want to stay in Australia despite their applications for asylum twice being rejected.
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"They are very weak, they are very distressed, they are very disappointed," Social Justice Network advocate Jamal Daoud told reporters.
Conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott said the detainees must be removed.
"We can't have a situation where people are acting in consistent defiance of legitimate authority," he said.
"These protests have to be ended and if it was happening in our streets, people were occupying buildings in our cities, the police would move in and they would sort it out.
"And I don't think there's any fundamental difference here. It just has to be sorted out."
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said it was not that easy, while conceding the stalemate was not a good image for his government.
"As you can understand, with men on a roof it could be quite dangerous if you have an altercation up there if you go and try to get them down," he said.
"We consult with all the relevant authorities and it's an operational decision taken by people on the ground.
"Generally the decision is 'well, you don't send up food or anything like that, you just wait for people to come down', that's generally the decision that the experts on the ground take."
Bowen on Tuesday introduced a bill to toughen Australia's refugee stance, proposing a stricter character test so those convicted of crimes, including rioting, while in immigration detention could be shipped home.
Australia's detention centres have been stretched to capacity by the arrival of a record 7,000 boatpeople in 2010.
Most arrived by leaky fishing vessels along a popular people-smuggling corridor from Indonesia. Many were from Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
