Thousands Rally Against Immigration in Australia, Sparking Controversy and Counter-Protests
Thousands of Australians participated in anti-immigration rallies across major cities and regional centers on Sunday, August 31, 2025, under the banner of "March for Australia." The rallies, condemned by the centre-left Labor government as promoting hate and linked to neo-Nazi groups, have ignited fierce debate over immigration, social cohesion, and rising right-wing extremism in a nation where half the population is either born overseas or has a parent born overseas.
According to the March for Australia website, the protests aimed to address concerns over "mass migration," which they claim has strained community bonds, culture, wages, housing, traffic, water supply, infrastructure, hospitals, crime, and the environment. A post on X on Saturday stated the rallies sought to "do what mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration." Organizers did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding allegations of neo-Nazi involvement.
Senior Labor minister Murray Watt condemned the Sydney rally, stating on Sky News, “We absolutely condemn the March for Australia rally that’s going on today. It is not about increasing social harmony. We don’t support rallies like this that are about spreading hate and dividing our community.” He asserted that the events were “organized and promoted” by neo-Nazi groups, a claim supported by reports of neo-Nazi figures like Thomas Sewell calling the rallies “our” event on Telegram.
In Sydney, an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 protesters, many draped in Australian flags, marched from Belmore Park to Victoria Park near the University of Sydney, close to the Sydney Marathon route where 35,000 runners participated. A counter-rally by the Refugee Action Coalition, attended by hundreds, expressed “disgust and anger” at the far-right agenda. A coalition spokesperson stated, “Our event shows the depth of disgust and anger about the far-right agenda of March for Australia.” Police deployed hundreds of officers, reporting no significant incidents in Sydney.
In Melbourne, a large rally saw clashes between anti-immigration protesters and counter-protesters, including pro-Palestine and antifascist groups, near Flinders Street Station. Aerial footage from the ABC showed riot police using pepper spray to separate groups, with Victoria Police promising further details later. In Brisbane, a few thousand flag-draped protesters marched peacefully, though confronted briefly by counter-protesters, including First Nations activist Uncle Wayne Wharton, who challenged their narrative.
Controversial figures, including One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in Canberra and Bob Katter in Townsville, attended the rallies. Katter, leader of a small populist party, was reportedly “swarmed with hundreds of supporters,” days after threatening a reporter for questioning his Lebanese heritage in relation to his attendance. Some protesters, like Sydney’s Glenn Allchin, voiced concerns about infrastructure strain, saying, “It’s about our country bursting at the seams… our kids struggling to get homes, our hospitals – we have to wait seven hours.”
The rallies come amid Australia’s struggle with rising right-wing extremism, underscored by laws banning Nazi salutes and terror group symbols, enacted in 2024 following antisemitic attacks since the Israel-Gaza conflict began in October 2023. Critics, including the government and counter-protesters, argue the rallies mask white nationalist agendas, with some organizers linked to pro-Nazi and “remigration” rhetoric, as uncovered by ABC News Verify.
