With less than a week to go before the “March for Australia” rallies, concern is growing within migrant communities over the language being used in posters, billboards and online promotions linked to the events.
One widely circulated pamphlet lists “more Indians in five years, than Greeks and Italians in 100” as a reason to take to the streets, a line that community leaders say unfairly singles out a community that has made strong contributions to Australia. Separately, One Nation has erected billboards in regional Victoria declaring “High Immigration = Rental Crisis,” a campaign that has drawn criticism from Premier Jacinta Allan as “divisive, hateful behaviour.”
The rhetoric has left many migrants uneasy. Posters promoting the Sydney rally at Belmore Park accuse “big business” of pushing for “endless migration” and claim both major parties are “complicit” in ignoring the public’s concerns. At the same time, the campaign frames its message around housing supply, cost of living, wages, infrastructure and crime, themes that have become politically sensitive as rents climb and inflation bites.
Indian community leaders have responded firmly. Virendra Khatana, President of the Association of Australian Rajasthanis Inc, said: “It is deeply concerning when any particular community is singled out during protests about migration. Australia has always thrived on diversity, and the Indian community contributes significantly to the economy, culture, and society. Protests about migration should focus on policy, not people. Singling out one group only fuels division and misunderstanding. What we really need is respectful dialogue, fair policy, and recognition of the positive contributions migrants bring to Australia.”
Mr Khatana added that the real drivers of housing stress were planning delays, limited land release and underinvestment in social housing. “Migrants also fill critical jobs in health, construction, and many services. The solution lies in boosting housing supply, aligning migration with infrastructure, and tackling rent and cost pressures, rather than blaming migrant communities,” he said.
Sudhir Juneja, of the Indian Community Centre Inc, urged people not to be intimidated. “Ignore them. This is not the first time racism is showing up its face. The Indian community’s contribution to Australia is not going unnoticed and that’s bothering many protesting. Any economy needs people to sustain and keep the economy moving forward—Indian migrants are helping in Australia’s prosperity,” he said.
Mr Juneja argued that workforce shortages, not migration, were driving Australia’s challenges. “Australia faces a pandemic of good quality workforce. People who are not having skills take up to blaming migrants rather than skilling up and taking up those jobs. Indian migrants, or for that matter any migrants, struggle with cracking jobs due to lack of local experience. Despite that, migrant workforce gets offered jobs because there are no other suitable takers available,” he said.
The political class has begun responding. Senator Paul Scarr, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, condemned the material circulating around the rallies and spoke in the Senate overnight in support of Australians of Indian heritage. “It is causing great distress to Australians of Indian heritage, including in my home state of Queensland,” he said. “It is outrageous… it seeks to divide Australians at a time when we need to unite.”
Senator Scarr went further, praising the Indian community’s contribution during times of bushfires, floods and the pandemic. “You belong. You make a wonderful contribution to our beautiful country, and you are the human bridge between Australia and India, and so important for the future of this country. So, I thank you for every single thing you do,” he told Parliament. He closed by invoking the message of Diwali: “Light will triumph over darkness, that good will triumph over evil, and knowledge will triumph over ignorance.”
The broader debate is also shaped by economic voices. Alan Kohler has noted: “My complaint with immigration is not so much that 1.6m people came here over the past four years, but that the Government neither meant that or knew it would happen.” Former immigration official Abul Rizvi pointed out that the population remains below where Treasury forecasts expected it to be had pre-pandemic trends continued.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is trying to recast the housing conversation with a policy that will allow first-home buyers to enter the market with a 5 per cent deposit from October. “Too many people feel the dream of home ownership is out of reach. So Labor’s making it easier,” he said. But economists such as Tarric Brooker argue there is a gulf between government rhetoric and housing realities.
For community leaders, the message is clear: the housing and cost-of-living debate must be disentangled from scapegoating. “Indian migrants are a boon for Australia,” Mr Juneja said. “Housing and cost of living are secondary issues, with not enough productive workforce the economy will collapse—that will worsen the housing and cost of living situation.”
As August 31 approaches, the rallies remain a test of how the immigration debate is framed: as a constructive conversation about housing and policy, or as a flashpoint that leaves communities feeling exposed.
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