Australia Anti-Immigration Protests Target Indians: ‘More Indians In…’

Thousands of Australians attended anti-immigration rallies across the country on Sunday, including in Sydney, the nation’s largest city. The government condemned the hateful protests, saying they were spreading racism, hatred, and had links to neo-Nazi groups. Promotional material for the ‘March for Australia’ rallies specifically targeted Indian-born residents, who now account for over 3% of Australia’s population.

Indian Population in Australia

Number of Indians has doubled from 2013 to 2023, reaching approximately 845,800, according to the latest census.

Flyers circulated at the rallies claimed, “More Indians in 5 years, than Greeks and Italians in 100… This isn’t a slight cultural change – it’s replacement plain and simple.”

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The organisers of the March for Australia rallies have framed their movement as a grassroots effort against mass migration, claiming that it has “torn at the bonds that held our communities together.”

On social media platform X, the group said it aims to do what mainstream politicians “never have the courage to do,” which is to demand an end to mass immigration. They insist they have no political affiliations, stating that they are “not members of, nor acting on behalf of, any other group.”

Immigrant Population in Australia

Australia, however, is a country with a large immigrant population, with around half of its people either born overseas or having at least one parent born abroad, according to Reuters. Despite this, the centre-left Labor government condemned the rallies.

Senior minister Murray Watt told Sky News that the government does not support “rallies like this that are about spreading hate and that are about dividing our community,” adding that the events were “organised and promoted” by neo-Nazi groups. The organisers of the March for Australia did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the neo-Nazi allegations.

Civil society groups also criticised the rallies. The Australian Council of Social Service expressed respect for the right to peaceful assembly but strongly rejected “all forms of racism, fascism, hate speech and bigotry.”

Its CEO Cassandra Goldie said that Australia’s diversity is “a great strength, not a threat” and stressed that there is no place in the country for ideologies that target people based on who they are, where they come from, or what they believe. Shadow Attorney General Julian Leeser also warned that while some attendees may be motivated by policy concerns, they need to be careful about the company they keep, noting his concern over anti-Indian sentiment and antisemitic undertones present in some of the protests.

Anti-Immigrant Protests Across Australian Cities

Reports indicated that between 5,000 and 8,000 people attended the Sydney rally. A counter-protest was held nearby by the Refugee Action Coalition, with hundreds participating to express their opposition to the far-right agenda of the March for Australia. 

In Canberra, a few hundred people gathered near a lake overlooking Parliament House, while in Melbourne police reportedly used pepper spray on demonstrators during a rally.

Political figures also attended some of the rallies. Bob Katter, leader of a small populist party, participated in a March for Australia rally in Queensland, despite previously threatening a reporter who referenced his Lebanese heritage.

At the Sydney rally, protester Glenn Allchin said the demonstrations were about the country “bursting at the seams” with more people being brought in by the government, and highlighted struggles such as housing shortages, overburdened hospitals, and insufficient infrastructure.

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