Thousands of people rallied across major cities in Australia, including Sydney, Perth, Canberra, and Brisbane, to demand an end to what they called “mass immigration.”
The protests, organized under the banner of “March for Australia,” turned violent in Melbourne, with clashes between protesters and counter-protesters prompting police to deploy pepper spray and baton rounds.
The Australian government has condemned the rallies as racist, with Minister of Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly stating that the gatherings were “organized by Nazis.” Aly criticized the protesters, saying, “Let’s not be coy about this.
They weren’t protesting immigration from white Western countries.” The minister also emphasized that the protests were “organized by Nazis, the very purpose of them was anti-immigration.”
The violence in Melbourne resulted in at least six arrests, with charges including assault. The police deployed riot squads to keep the groups apart, using pepper spray and baton rounds to disperse the crowd.
The clashes were sparked by the presence of prominent Australian neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell, who was among a group of men wearing black who later attacked an Indigenous protest camp in Melbourne.
The organizers of the camp, Camp Sovereignty, said in a statement that four people were injured, including a woman who was taken to the hospital.
The police did not arrive until after the men had left and made no arrests. The incident highlights the growing concern over far-right extremism in Australia, with the country’s spy agency warning that far-right groups are on the rise and have become more organized and visible.
In Sydney, police estimated that between 5,000 to 8,000 people joined the anti-immigration protest, while the Refugee Action Coalition held a counter-rally.
March for Australia protester Glenn Allchin said he wanted a “slowdown” in immigration, citing concerns over housing, hospitals, and roads. “It’s about our country bursting at the seams and our government bringing more and more people in,” Allchin said.
Counter-protesters in Sydney held signs pointing out that outside of Indigenous people, the vast majority of Australia’s population are immigrants.
“Our event shows the depth of disgust and anger about the far right agenda of March For Australia,” a spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition said in a statement.
The protests come amid a growing debate over immigration in Australia, with some politicians and community leaders calling for greater action to address the issue.
Australia’s Greens deputy leader, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, criticized the Labor government, saying it “must end its racist dog-whistling on migrants and refugees and its crack down on pro-Palestine protesters and instead focus on the urgent implementation of the National Anti-Racism Framework.”
The Australian government has taken steps to address far-right extremism, including laws banning the Nazi salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups.
The laws came into effect earlier this year in response to a string of anti-Semitic attacks on synagogues, buildings, and cars since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
As the debate over immigration continues, it is clear that the issue will remain a contentious one in Australian politics. The government must balance the need to address the concerns of its citizens with the need to protect the rights and dignity of all people, regardless of their background or immigration status.
