The March for Australia rally, set for 31 August, has entered a new and complicated phase. What began as an online call for Australians to gather in capital cities under banners opposing mass immigration has become a tug-of-war over ownership, message, and image. In the past week, claims and counter-claims between fringe nationalists, the official organisers, and outside commentators have shifted the debate from the original cause to the risks of extremist co-option and public backlash.
The flashpoint came when Thomas Sewell, linked to the National Socialist Network (NSN) and the White Australia movement, posted on Telegram claiming the march as theirs. “White Australia and the NSN vanguard have successfully completed the Winter National summit,” his message read. “I have been informed that foreign fifth columns are attempting to hijack our August 31st public rally for Australia. Australians must say NO to Israeli, Palestinian, Chinese and Indian foreign interference trying to hijack our common sense patriotic spirit. White Australians must assemble on August 31st against the traitors and foreigners who are trying to destroy our great nation.”
The reaction from the official March for Australia page was swift and firm. In a Facebook statement, the organisers rejected any link to Sewell or his politics: “Recent claims have been made by various groups attempting to take ownership of March For Australia or attach their own agendas to it. We wish to make it clear: the organisers are not members of, nor acting on behalf of, any other group. In particular, recent claims by Thomas Sewell of White Australia are not reflective of the organisers nor the politics of March For Australia. We are not associated with their organisation.”
The organisers also refuted specific allegations about links to ethnic or religious groups: “Additional claims that we are associated with Israeli, Jewish, or Palestinian movements or organisations are also unfounded and untrue.”
They described March for Australia as “a grassroots, organic effort to unite Australians around a common cause—ending mass immigration”, and stressed that their support base spans “a diverse range of political backgrounds”. Any attempt to turn it into a rally for one faction, they said, “is not in the spirit of the movement”.
In a post to their 40,700 followers on X, the account Aus Integrity wrote: “The 31 August 2025 Australian march is NOT about Israel, Palestine, White Australia, Blak or First Nations, or any foreign interest. It is a grassroots rally of Australians against government mass immigration… There is no racist intent in this march. The only condition is a peaceful march unified under our Australian flag without foreign influence.”
A follow-up Q&A post on their Facebook page sought to reinforce the message and provide clarity. In response to “Is this going to be violent?”, they wrote: “Absolutely not. We want to peacefully assemble. It would be very convenient for the government and the lobbies that push for endless migration into this country if this day turned violent; it would give them an easy excuse to dismiss the millions of Australians who want an end to mass immigration by labelling us as ‘violent’.”
The Q&A also underlined their stance on flags—“NO FOREIGN FLAGS. We want a sea of Red/Blue Ensigns and Eureka flags on the day”—and rejected any fundraising: “We don’t want your money, just for you to show up with your Aussie flag.”
This public distancing reflects an urgent effort to preserve the rally’s legitimacy. The optics of being linked, even indirectly, to a self-identified neo-Nazi figure like Sewell could be damaging in the eyes of the broader public, the media, and potential attendees. The tension is heightened by recent events in Melbourne, where masked NSN members marched through the CBD in the early hours, chanting and carrying flags—an episode that Premier Jacinta Allan condemned, and Opposition Leader Brad Battin used to criticise the government’s handling of extremist activity.
Commentators across the political spectrum are weighing in. Rukshan Fernando, a Melbourne-based activist and prominent voice in right-leaning online spaces, noted on X: “A group claiming to be organisers for the March for Australia rally on August 31 has scrambled overnight to distance itself from Thomas Sewell… This comes as media and government attention has been drawn to the group that participated in what they described as a ‘Nazi’ march through the city of Melbourne last week at 1 a.m.” He argued that “attempts to hijack genuine concerns of Australians and link them to Nazism” risk misrepresenting the rally’s intended purpose.
The digital battleground is not just among rally insiders. On TikTok, creator Rao Dita has amassed over one million views and nearly 40,000 shares on a video warning that the protest would not be peaceful. “The organisers of this protest… really need to come forward and debunk everything that I have been saying,” she said, adding that until that happens, she stands by her belief it will not be peaceful. In an earlier viral post, she questioned the choice of images on the March for Australia website, saying it “feels like this protest is fuelled by anger” and that “a lot of you will be marching for the wrong reasons”.
Her videos have provoked heated responses, with some accusing her of instilling unnecessary fear and others defending her right to question the rally’s origins. The organisers’ challenge is to respond without fuelling the perception of secrecy or allowing misinformation to spread unchecked.
Adding another layer, activist Drew Pavlou offered what he called “sincere advice as a patriotic moderate”. He likened the potential of the rally to the Gaullist counter-rallies of May 1968 in France, which mobilised nationalist support against communist street protests. “This is what the August 31 rally SHOULD look like for Australia,” he wrote. But he warned that “you have to keep out the neo-Nazis and other extremist groups… It has to be a Gaullist rally. Not a Nazi rally, not a schizo extremist racist rally.” Failure to do so, he argued, would “set the cause of patriotism back a generation”.
The accusations of website similarities between March for Australia and NSN, raised by some on social media, further complicate the optics. Even without definitive proof, the mere suggestion feeds a narrative that opponents can use to undermine the event’s credibility. In mass-movement politics, perception can become reality quickly, especially when amplified by online sharing.
The organisers are now juggling multiple fronts: separating their image from extremist actors, maintaining focus on their stated aim of ending mass immigration, countering negative portrayals in mainstream and social media, and keeping potential attendees engaged. Their Facebook posts emphasise patience, calling the event “an extremely high profile and fluid event” and warning followers to “be patient and be aware of agitators who will just try to make this march violent”.
The stakes extend beyond 31 August. How the rally unfolds could influence the trajectory of nationalist and anti-immigration politics in Australia for years. If the organisers manage to keep it peaceful, on-message, and free from extremist imagery, they could claim a public relations win and strengthen their cause. If violence, hate speech, or extremist symbols emerge, the damage could be swift and lasting.
Public authorities will also be watching closely. NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has said no formal notice has been lodged for the march in Sydney, meaning organisers do not yet have the legal protections of an authorised assembly. This could affect police planning and the treatment of participants on the day. In Victoria, new anti-vilification laws and proposed powers to unmask protesters are due to be in force soon, making the Melbourne events a possible test case.
For immigrant communities and multicultural advocates, the rhetoric from figures like Sewell is alarming. Calls to “say NO to Israeli, Palestinian, Chinese and Indian foreign interference” are read as targeting specific groups and undermining social cohesion. The fact that such language is being publicly repudiated by the official organisers may not be enough to erase concerns, especially when other voices are telling migrants to be cautious about safety on the day.
The rally’s decentralised nature—with locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, but details still to be announced—adds another challenge. Without clear central control, the risk of mixed messages and opportunistic infiltration rises. The official announcement date for venues is 15 August, which will give only two weeks for police coordination and public preparation.
In the coming days, the organisers’ credibility will depend on three things: transparency about logistics and leadership, consistent public rejection of extremist co-option, and clear instructions to attendees about peaceful conduct. Failure in any of these could hand opponents the narrative they are warning against.
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