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Australian lawmakers condemned rallies in Sydney and Melbourne targeting Indian migrants and promoting far-right anti-immigration views.
The anti-immigration protests drew thousands of demonstrators. (Image: Reuters)
Australian lawmakers condemned anti-immigration rallies that swept major cities with clashes breaking out in Sydney and Melbourne. Branded the “March for Australia,” the protests drew thousands of demonstrators and gave a platform to far-right figures, including neo-Nazi activists. Promotional material for the rallies targeted Indian migrants in particular.
Who Organised The Marches?
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While no single group formally claimed ownership, two far-right influencers were identified as key organisers. A self-styled “freedom fighter” known as Bec Freedom claimed responsibility for the Sydney rally where he was recorded telling supporters the event would protect “Australian heritage”. In Melbourne, anti-immigration activist Hugo Lennon was identified as another organiser who has promoted the far-right idea of “remigration,” calling for deportations of non-white immigrants and the “great replacement” conspiracy theory.
Why Were The Protests Held?
Flyers circulated before the rallies described mass migration as a “crisis” tearing communities apart- claiming that more Indians had migrated to Australia since 2020 than the total number of Greek and Italian arrivals since 1925. Demographers dismissed this as misleading, noting gaps in historical data and comparing it to past xenophobic rhetoric against Southern European migrants. Radio host Ben Fordham amplified the rhetoric in August, claiming that “five plane-loads” of migrants were arriving daily although government data shows a different picture as Net Overseas Migration (NOM) was 446,000 in 2023–24, down from a peak of 536,000 the year before.
Has Immigration Increased In Australia?
Over the past decade, immigration has risen but not at the explosive pace suggested by protest organisers. NOM rose from 187,000 in 2014 to more than 445,000 in 2024 but numbers dipped sharply during Covid-19 border closures. The Australian Bureau of Statistics cautioned that data on overseas arrivals and departures does not directly reflect permanent migration or population change.
Indian migration to Australia has grown substantially, making Indians the second-largest migrant group after Britons. As of June 2023, 845,800 Indian-born people lived in Australia, more than double the number a decade earlier. Indians now account for 10.3% of the overseas-born population and 3.2% of the total population. Many work in high-skilled sectors such as IT, healthcare and engineering.
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Australia
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