Organisers are hoping for strong turnouts across Australia, with thousands rallying under the ‘March for Australia’ banner, demanding an end to mass immigration as police separate protesters from anti-racism demonstrators in cities from Sydney to Melbourne. The second wave of nationwide rallies began at noon, echoing chants of ‘Australia first’ and ‘End mass immigration’, with organisers claiming the turnout may surpass August’s events.”
The political atmosphere surrounding these rallies has grown more volatile by the hour. The rise of nationalist sentiment has collided with internal fractures on the right, including Barnaby Joyce’s possible defection to One Nation and the resignation of Andrew Hastie from the Liberal frontbench. Both have become rallying points for conservatives dissatisfied with what they see as a party adrift on identity, climate and migration.
At the centre of the turmoil sits Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who is facing pressure from within her party to shift rightwards while maintaining an inclusive tone in public. Ley’s recent address at the Hindu Council’s Deepavali celebration in Blacktown spoke of unity and shared values. “Deepavali is one of the most important festivals for Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities, and its message is one that all Australians can relate to,” she said, adding that Australia is “better, brighter and stronger because of your contribution.” It was a speech designed to project moderation in the face of anger, a stark contrast to the rhetoric now dominating the streets.
RedBridge director Kos Samaras said the rallies and the political fallout reveal an identity crisis within conservative politics. “Since the August anti-immigration rallies, roughly a dozen national polls have been published. Every single one places Labor between 54% and 57% on two-party preferred. So no, the issue hasn’t hurt them,” he said.
“Immigration remains a topic of high salience for conservatives, but very low salience for everyone else. Each time it’s elevated, it doesn’t broaden the Right’s appeal, it simply agitates its extremities and blows wind into One Nation’s sails.”
Samaras said the anger was misdirected. “Australians might well tell pollsters they want slower population growth. But that’s a bit like saying they’d like lower taxes and cheaper groceries, it’s an expression of frustration, not a voting intention. They do not conflate immigration with housing. Across all these polls, housing remains the number-one issue for young Australians, yet they overwhelmingly vote for the Left, Labor or Greens.”
He described the shift as a political import rather than a domestic strategy. “Of course, it’s yet another reminder of how absurd it is to import American or British politics into Australia. Both those countries face genuine illegal migration crises. Australia doesn’t. What we have instead is an identity crisis ricocheting through parts of conservative politics, with some MPs (not all), so busy borrowing other countries’ outrage, they have forgotten about what may work in the country they live in.”
The Barnaby Factor
Adding to the instability, Nationals veteran Barnaby Joyce has confirmed he will not recontest his New England seat, citing an “irreparable breakdown” with party leader David Littleproud. He has left open the possibility of joining Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, a move that could reshape conservative politics. Joyce said he was “considering all options,” while Hanson said she would “open doors” for him and hinted he could one day succeed her in the Senate.
Littleproud urged him to stay, calling a defection “abandoning important work,” while former Nationals leader Michael McCormack described the idea as “betrayal.” On social media, the speculation has triggered ridicule and satire in equal measure. One post joked that Joyce was “heading to One Nation HQ looking for the open bar,” while another warned that “the spill is leading to a flood.”
For the Coalition, the timing could hardly be worse. Joyce’s flirtation with One Nation coincides with the rallies’ surge and comes after the departures of Jacinta Price and Andrew Hastie from the frontbench, leaving the right wing of the party more vocal than ever.
The Counter-March
While anti-immigration marches fill city squares, thousands more are on the streets for anti-racism protests under the banner “Unite Against Racism: Migrants and Refugees Are Welcome.” In Melbourne, First Nations leaders from Camp Sovereignty led a procession from the State Library to Parliament House, chanting “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here” and “Nazi scum off our streets.”
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi condemned the far right’s resurgence. She earlier told a Fairfax publication that leaders had ‘ignored white supremacy’s impact on First Nations people and communities of colour.’ At the counter-rally in Melbourne, speakers including Palestinian activist Basil urged solidarity against ‘divisive nationalistic rhetoric that fosters inequality.
In several cities, police have been forced to form human barriers between groups. Metal detectors were used at the Melbourne rally, and officers cautioned masked individuals about designated protest zones.
On X, users have framed today’s clashes as part of a global pattern. One viral post read: “The ideology is imported from America. The paraphernalia is imported from China. The Nazis are imported from the Weimar Republic. And they’re calling it a ‘March for Australia’?”
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