Thousands of racists joined anti-immigration marches across the country on Sunday. It was a sobering reminder of the urgent need to organise in defence of migrants, refugees and Indigenous people.
There were some 6000 on the racist rallies in Sydney and Melbourne. There were thousands more in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, with smaller gatherings in other cities.
Marchers were white and mostly middle-aged or older. Australian flags were everywhere, with chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”, “Albanese out” and “Send them back”.
There were counter-rallies in most cities, with 5000 anti-racists in Melbourne facing off against the far right despite heavy policing that included the use of capsicum spray and flash bangs.
In Sydney, a community anti-racist rally of 200, organised in direct response to the racists, marched to the weekend Palestine rally, which had been billed as a rally against genocide and fascism.
Organised by the Refugee Action Coalition, the rally was addressed by NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, Pride in Protest and student activists.
Housing crisis
The racists are riding on the back of mainstream scare campaigns about migration.
In April, then Liberal leader Peter Dutton promised to slash annual immigration by 100,000, falsely linking migration to the housing crisis.
Rather than challenging Dutton’s logic, Labor promised to cut net immigration “quite considerably”. Universities are facing job cuts because Labor has already cut international student numbers.
And just last week the Albanese government introduced legislation to make it easier to deport non-citizens and announced it would pay $400 million to Nauru (and $70 million a year) to take at least 280 deportees.
Every time “respectable” politicians call for cuts to migration or for deportations, it fuels the far right.
The mainstream media also gave the marches massive free publicity in the lead up, with Sydney’s Daily Telegraph even running a story that printed the flyer for the protest.
So our response to the racists can’t just be on the streets against their rallies—we need to organise against government policies that demonise migrants and refugees and put a target on their back.
The racists are seeking to turn legitimate anger against Anthony Albanese’s failure to act on housing prices and the cost of living against immigrants.
We need to target the governments, corporations and the rich who are really responsible and encourage every ounce of a real fightback for jobs, wages and conditions.
Nazis on the platform
The anti-migration rallies tried to claim they were simply organised by “nationalists, patriots and everyday Australians”. But many of the known organisers were linked to far right and fascist groups, such as Sydney organiser “Bec Freedom” and Melbourne organiser Matt Trihey, both affiliated to the fascist National Workers Alliance.
Several organisers have shared material online promoting white supremacist and far-right ideas like remigration and the great replacement theory. The rallies themselves also promoted white nationalist politics, saying they were “a stand for the people, culture, and nation that built Australia”.
The National Socialist Network (NSN) also claimed it had initiated the rallies although they made up only a tiny proportion of the crowds—20 or so in Sydney, maybe 30 in Melbourne.
Other organisers played down their involvement but made it clear the Nazis were welcome. In Melbourne, NSN leader and convicted criminal Thomas Sewell spoke at Parliament to cheers. His thugs later attacked Camp Sovereignty, an ongoing First Nations presence on the edge of the CBD, injuring several people.
In Sydney, NSN activist Jack Eltis addressed the racist rally during an open mic session. In Adelaide, the event ended in chaos when an NSN member tried to speak and sections of the crowd objected to his explicit white supremacy rhetoric.
Conspiracy theorists
The Nazis will take heart from the rallies. But most rally-goers were not with the NSN. In Melbourne there was a banner for Jesus and a sign against “demonic Freemasons”. Many in the crowd were anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists—all united by suspicion of government and rejection of migrants.
Solidarity spoke to an Australia Post worker who resented the outsourcing of work to contractors and blamed migrant “cheap labour” rather than bosses’ greed.
A CFMEU member endorsed sovereign citizen theories, called all mainstream parties “Nazis” and hinted that Jews were running the world.
But a member of the RTBU rail workers’ union said he had no issue with multiculturalism. “We have all sorts at work and we organise together. I’m here because I don’t like what the government is doing.”
In Adelaide, an anti-racist observing the rally reported that, “They all believed that all immigrants come here with no money and were given a house and finances.
“No one trusts the government, the police, the press, banks etc.”
The challenge for anti-racists will be to drive a wedge between the open Nazis of the NSN and the softer racists and prevent the far right from growing.
Trades Hall
It’s important that anti-racists now go on the front foot and organise to show the depth of opposition to the racists. Getting union backing and involvement will be key.
We need to build broad, united anti-racist mobilisations in every city.
In Melbourne, the Victorian Trades Hall Council ran a social media campaign to discourage workers from attending the racist rally. The Maritime Union put out a national statement against the use of the Eureka flag and the Merchant Navy flag by the anti-migrant marchers.
Union activists should be moving motions in their workplaces and branches calling on unions to go further and back anti-racist mobilisations.
Those on the anti-migration marches were punching down on migrants, refugees and Indigenous people. We need a movement that fights Albanese and punches up at the billionaires.
Fighting racism and fighting the bosses must go hand in hand.
By David Glanz
