Thousands of Australians have turned out for anti-immigration rallies across the country that were condemned by the government as having far-right links and “spreading hate”.
March for Australia rallies took place in Sydney, Melbourne and other major cities – and several clashes took place as marchers were met with counter demonstrations.
A number of opposition politicians joined the marches, including One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and federal MP Bob Katter.
Australia has faced a recent rise in right-wing extremism and made the Nazi salute punishable by a mandatory prison term earlier this year.
Up to 8,000 people assembled for the Sydney rally, according to ABC Australia. Police said hundreds of officers were deployed across the city but saw “no significant incidents”.
In Melbourne, protesters clashed with attendees of a separate pro-Palestine rally. Among the speakers was Thomas Sewell, a known neo-Nazi who addressed crowds from the steps of Parliament House.
In Adelaide, police estimated that 15,000 people were present at both a rally and counter-demonstration, and said that crowds were “generally well-behaved”, according to local media.
One demonstrator was seen with a placard expressing support for Dezi Freeman, a conspiracy theorist and self-described “sovereign citizen” who is accused shooting dead two police officers on his property earlier this week. A large-scale manhunt is now underway for Freeman, 56.
The marches were promoted by several opposition politicians, neo-Nazi figures, and some anti-lockdown campaigners that rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The March for Australia website says “Australia’s unity and shared values have been eroded by policies and movements that divide us,” adding that “mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together”.
The group also says it is also concerned about culture, wages, traffic, housing and water supply, environmental destruction, infrastructure, hospitals, crime and loss of community.
Earlier this week, the government said it stood against the rallies, warning “there is no place for any type of hate in Australia.”
Home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said: “There is no place in our country for people who seek to divide and undermine our social cohesion.
“We stand with modern Australia against these rallies – nothing could be less Australian.”
Dr Anne Aly, the minister for multicultural affairs, said: “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.”
