Join us to stand together against racism and the far right, and for a genuinely free and democratic society.
Hindmarsh Square**
11:30am — Meet at Mukata / Hindmarsh Square
12:30pm — March to Tarntanyangga / Victoria Square
ONE YEAR OF RACISM FROM “MARCH FOR AUSTRALIA”
The racist March for Australia (MFA) is mobilising nationally again on Sunday 30 August. We call on everyone who hates racism and fascism to join us to rally and march against the agenda of MFA that day.
We take inspiration from the huge nationwide rallies against Pauline Hanson’s racist One Nation party by school and university students on 14 August. This is a chance for all ages to build on their momentum.
We are doing our best to make our rally and march safe for everyone to participate in. We will be at a safe distance from their event, and will not be engaging with them in skirmishes on the streets.
It is one year since MFA’s first round of big marches around the country, which was a terrifying moment for everyone who believes in equality. Their marches highlighted a hatred of immigration, amplifying the lies that migrants are the cause of the housing shortage and rising cost of living.
Many MFA organisers are open neo-Nazis. In Naarm/Melbourne, the march emboldened some of these Nazis to trash Camp Sovereignty, an Aboriginal protest camp.
FREE SPEECH HYPOCRISY
This time MFA are claiming their mobilisation is about free speech. Their promotional videos make it clear what free speech means for them: the right to abuse and attack people who don’t fit their vision of a White Australia.
We’ve seen their version of free speech in action this month, with the break-in and scrawled swastikas at the Semaphore Workers Club, and abuse of players with Fijian and other heritage in suburban soccer.
Freedom of speech is important. But when we talk about free speech in Australia, we must also ask: whose speech has historically been protected, and whose has been silenced?
THE REAL FREE SPEECH CRISIS
For First Nations people, freedom of speech has never been equal. Aboriginal people have been punished for speaking language, practising culture, resisting dispossession, naming violence and asserting sovereignty — while racist policies and ideas have been given enormous institutional power.
First Nations communities continue to be targeted by racist movements and hate speech today. They must not become an afterthought in conversations about racism and free speech.
With Australian governments and industry supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, free speech to defend Palestine is increasingly under attack. More and more workers are pressured by employers to self-censor what they say in their private lives, including on social media, making it harder and harder to participate in democratic processes.
March for Australia has no interest in these genuine struggles for free speech. It openly targets migrant and refugee communities, LGBTIQ+ people, First Nations people and abortion rights.
NO TO MARCH FOR AUSTRALIA, NO TO ONE NATION
With Pauline Hanson’s One Nation growing in the polls, we can’t sit back while racists mobilise.
We know that working-class people are doing it tough. The government keeps 3-5% of us unemployed. They’re stripping NDIS funding from vulnerable people. Housing is unaffordable for most of us, rents are rising, the cost of living is crushing people, wages aren’t keeping up and governments aren’t listening.
We don’t believe everyone attending the March for Australia rally is a committed racist. Many people are angry about the same things we are — but have been targeted by propaganda that tells them migrants and other communities are responsible for problems they didn’t create.
The defeat of the Voice was not a mandate to silence or target First Nations people. First Nations people have been fighting to have their voices heard on this continent since colonisation — and they continue to be targeted by racist politics today.
Migrants aren’t responsible for the housing crisis.
Refugees aren’t responsible for the cost of living.
First Nations people aren’t responsible for the failures of governments to provide housing, infrastructure and essential services.
When we blame each other, we let the government off the hook for its part in creating these problems.
We need to organise around the things that are actually making working-class people’s lives harder — not turn on each other.
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ON SUNDAY
Bring your rally signs and placards — make some at home or bring whatever you’ve got!
Travel with a buddy if you can. Look out for each other, particularly if you’re travelling home alone.
Follow marshal directions. Marshals are there to help keep the march organised and moving safely. If you’re unsure about something, ask a marshal or organiser.
We are not planning to cross paths with the March for Australia rally. We will remain at a safe distance and our focus is on our own peaceful, visible mobilisation.
Don’t engage with anyone trying to provoke you. If someone is attempting to intimidate, abuse or disrupt the rally, don’t take the bait. Move away, stay with the group and alert a marshal or organiser.
Look after each other. Stay hydrated, wear appropriate clothing and make sure you have whatever you need for the day.
This is about showing that racism does not speak for our communities.
We are angry too. We are struggling too. And we’re not going to let the far right turn working people against each other.
If you would like to financial support the rally we’re fundraising to cover the costs of the rally, including paying First Nations people for their time and contributions, as well as essential printing, materials, transport and other logistics.
If you can chip in, every donation helps us make this a strong, safe and inclusive mobilisation.
https://bit.ly/YesToFreeSpeechNoToRacism
See you at Mukata/Hindmarch Sq, 11:30 am Sunday 30 August.
YES TO FREE SPEECH. NO TO RACISM.
