Massive Anti-Immigration Protests in Australia Singles Out Indians, Government Cites Neo-Nazi Links

Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country on Sunday, organized in Sydney, other state capitals, and regional centers under the banner “March for Australia.”

"Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together," the website of "March for Australia" says. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do "what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration".

The group also says it is concerned about culture, wages, traffic, housing, water supply, environmental destruction, infrastructure, hospitals, crime, and loss of community.

The rally organizers have explicitly identified Indian migration as a primary concern, framing it as a threat to the nation's cultural fabric.

One flyer presents a comparative statistic, stating, "More Indians in 5 Years Than Greeks and Italians 100."

It further elaborates on this point, adding, "And that’s just from one country… We know migration has a cultural impact. This isn’t a slight cultural change– it’s a replacement, plain and simple."

The group's website states, “Our streets have seen growing displays of anti-Australian hatred, foreign conflicts, and disintegrating trust, whilst mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together. This march is a stand for the people, culture, and nation that built Australia - and for our right to decide its future.”

“What the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration,” it mentioned in an X post on Saturday.

Govt Condemns Protest, Cites Neo-Nazi Links

The center-left government condemned the protests, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis.

"We absolutely condemn the March for Australia rally that's going on today. It is not about increasing social harmony," Murray Watt, a senior minister in the Labor government, told Sky News television, when asked about the rally in Sydney, the country's most-populous city.

“We don't support rallies like this that are about spreading hate and that are dividing our community. I sincerely hope that there's no trouble that arises. The fact that this is being organised and promoted by neo-Nazi groups tells us everything we need to know about the level of hatred and division that these kinds of rallies are about," Sky News quoted Environment Minister Murray Watt as saying.

“There is no place in our country for people who seek to divide and undermine our social cohesion. Nothing could be less Australian,” Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs said.

Anne Aly, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, said, “Multiculturalism is an integral and valued part of our national identity. We stand with all Australians, no matter where they were born, against those who seek to divide us and who seek to intimidate migrant communities. We will not be intimidated. This brand of far-right activism grounded in racism and ethnocentrism has no place in modern Australia.”

Counter-Rally Taken Out To Express ‘Disgust, Anger’

Some 5,000 to 8,000 people, many draped in Australian flags, assembled for the Sydney rally, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. It was held near the course of the Sydney Marathon, where 35,000 runners pounded the streets on Sunday, finishing at the city's Opera House.

Nearby, a counter-rally by the Refugee Action Coalition, a community activist organisation, took place.

"Our event shows the depth of disgust and anger about the far-right agenda of March For Australia," a coalition spokesperson said in a statement. Organisers said hundreds attended that event.

Police said hundreds of officers were deployed across Sydney in an operation that ended "with no significant incidents."

A large March for Australia rally was held in central Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, according to aerial footage from the ABC, which reported that riot officers used pepper spray on demonstrators. Victoria Police did not confirm the report but said it would provide details on the protest later on Sunday.

Bob Katter, the leader of a small populist party, attended a March for Australia rally in Queensland, a party spokesperson said, three days after the veteran lawmaker threatened a reporter for mentioning Katter's Lebanese heritage at a press conference when the topic of his attendance at a March for Australia event was discussed.

Katter was "swarmed with hundreds of supporters" at the rally in Townsville, Brisbane's Courier-Mail reported.

In Sydney, March for Australia protester Glenn Allchin said he wanted a "slowdown" in immigration.

"It’s about our country bursting at the seams and our government bringing more and more people in," Allchin told Reuters. "Our kids struggling to get homes, our hospitals - we have to wait seven hours - our roads, the lack of roads."

(With inputs from agencies)

Also Read: 'India-China Must Be Partners, Not Rivals; Shouldn't Let Border Issue Define Ties': Chinese Foreign Ministry Post Modi-Xi Talks