Tens of thousands of Australians took to the streets on Sunday to protest the country’s immigration policy, in a series of demonstrations held in major cities across the continent. The protests, which were held under the banner “a march for Australia,” deteriorated into violence in several locations, and police were forced to use riot control methods, including tear gas and pepper spray.
🚨BREAKING: Protests across Australia have erupted.
500,000 patriots on the streets across the country demanding remigration.
Australia has woken up. pic.twitter.com/jVU2ubVcLe
— The British Patriot (@TheBritLad) August 31, 2025
 The protest in Australia is taking place against the backdrop of growing tensions over national identity and immigration in several countries. In Britain, the “fly the flag” protest recently broke out, a grassroots movement to fly British and English flags in protest of the country’s record-breaking illegal immigration. At the same time, huge pro-Palestinian demonstrations have shaken both countries, with calls in some cases for support for terrorism and hatred against Israel.
In Sydney, the country’s largest city, between 5,000 and 8,000 protesters gathered wrapped in Australian flags, according to Reuters estimates. The demonstration took place next to the Sydney marathon course, where 35,000 participants ran. Police deployed hundreds of officers across the city, and the event ended “without significant incident,” according to a police spokesperson.
Police officers in riot gear are deployed on Spring Street during a March for Australia anti-immigration rally in Melbourne, Australia, 31 August 2025 (Photo: EPA/Joel Carrett) EPA
In Melbourne, the most serious clashes were recorded when thousands of anti-immigration protesters confronted a counter-protest by left-wing organizations and pro-Palestinian groups. Large police forces were deployed to separate the rival camps, and officers used pepper spray to disperse protesters, according to the Australian network ABC. In Melbourne, Thomas Sewell, a leader of the country’s far right who is defined as a neo-Nazi and supports white supremacist ideas, was among the speakers who addressed the protesters.
Marie Watt, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, issued a strong condemnation of the protests. “We absolutely condemn the march for Australia,” she said in an interview with Sky News. “This is not intended to increase social harmony. We do not support rallies aimed at spreading hatred and dividing our community.”
Police officers separate anti-immigration and pro-immigration protesters during a rally in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 31 August 2025 (Photo: EPA/Darren) EPA
The organizers of the protest claim that mass immigration “tore the social fabric that held our communities together,” citing damage to local culture, a decrease in wages, traffic congestion, a housing crisis, environmental damage, a burden on infrastructure and hospitals, an increase in crime, and a loss of a sense of community.
“Our country can no longer contain more people, and the government continues to bring more and more in,” Glenn Olchin, one of the protesters in Sydney, said in an interview with Reuters. “Our children cannot buy houses, people wait seven hours in hospitals, and there are not enough roads.”
The largest protests against mass-immigration in Australia’s history are taking place right now.
Tens of thousands are taking part in the “March for Australia” protests in:
– Sydney
– Melbourne
– Brisbane
– Perth
– Adelaide
– Canberra
– Darwin
– Townsville
– Cairns pic.twitter.com/AfzdnJHYdB
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 31, 2025
 Since the war in Gaza began, huge pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held in major cities in Australia, with some protesters carrying Taliban flags, pictures of Khamenei and Iranian nuclear scientists, and shouting chants such as “death to the IDF.” These demonstrations were also attended by politicians, including a member of parliament from the Labor Party and a senator from the Green Party, who called for recognition of a Palestinian state and the imposition of sanctions on Israel.
At the same time, an unprecedented wave of antisemitism is afflicting the country, a wave that has included the burning of synagogues, attacks on Israeli restaurants by masked individuals, and other events. Australia recently revealed that Iran was behind at least some of the attacks, with agents of Iranian origin using local criminals to carry out the arsons, which led to the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador from Canberra.
