2m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:56am
About 100 March for Australia protesters in Hobart
Julia Pycroft and her granddaughter are among roughly 100 people taking part in the March for Australia demonstration on the Salamanca Lawns in Hobart.
Ms Pycroft has told reporter Jessica Moran she feels mass immigration “is just not on anymore”.
“We’ve got nothing for our own children,” she said.
“They can’t buy homes, they can’t get jobs.
“I’ve just become a great-grandmother, and I know she hasn’t got a future.
“There’s nothing here for Australian children.
“They’re all leaving Tasmania and going to the mainland because there’s nothing here.”
Julia Pycroft and her granddaugther (ABC News: Jessica Moran)
March for Australia demonstrators in Hobart (ABC News: Jessica Moran)
4m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:54am
March for Australia attendees told not to be disappointed in Melbourne turnout
(ABC News: Ben Knight)
Matt Trihey, who spoke at the March for Australia event in Melbourne, has told rally attendees not to be disappointed by the turnout.
Mr Trihey is from the National Workers Alliance, a self-described movement “dedicated to the preservation of Western Culture and Identity”.
He has previously claimed people with “European blood” face an “existential threat” from immigration.
Responding to questions from the ABC ahead of the rally, Mr Trihey said he had never been a member of a neo-Nazi organisation.
“The National Worker’s Alliance is a nationalist organisation,” Mr Trihey said at the Melbourne event.
“We currently advocate for the people of European descent in the same way every other ethnic group racial group should and does advocate for themselves.”
He identified the Alliance as the organisers of today’s rally.
(ABC News: Ben Knight)
4m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:53am
Protest groups meet in Melbourne
Counter-protesters have arrived at parliament in Melbourne’s CBD, where an anti-immigration rally is being held.
Hundreds of police officers, including mounted police and those in riot gear, are separating the two groups.
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
7m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:50am
March for Australia protesters gather in Sydney
March for Australia protesters are gathering in Sydney’s Hyde Park.
Tony is among them.
He was also part of the estimated 15,000 people at the August rally, and says he has also been to Canberra and “all over”, describing himself as someone who “turns up.”
(ABC News)
He wants to see an end to immigration, but it’s just one the issues he’s protesting about today.
“Mass immigration is beyond the pale, it’s causing too many problems for the country.
“Freedom of speech.
I’m not a fan of digital ID, I think cash is king.
“I think we should keep our independence and not be trod over by the government.”
20m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:37amWATCH: Police deploy OC spray against protesters30m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:27amViolence erupts between police and protesters in Melbourne
Tensions are flaring in Melbourne’s CBD, where protesters attending an anti-racism rally have clashed with police.
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
After a tense standoff where insults were hurled at police officers, at least one protester was detained by police.
Protesters continued to surround a group of police, with officers shouting at the demonstrators to get back.
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
OC spray was then deployed, with several protesters being being affected. Others used umbrellas to block the spray, screaming “shame” at the officers.
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
33m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:24am
Blame government housing policies, protester says
Let’s head back to the Sydney anti-racism protest.
Protester John Woods said he believed migrants were being unfairly scapegoated for Australia’s housing affordability problems:
“It’s wrong to point the finger at migrants. It’s got nothing to do with migrants.
“It’s a problem with government policies on housing.”
Another protester, Sabina Groeneveld said migrants contributed positively to Australian society:
“Most migrants are studying, working and also paying tax.
“So Australia would be not in such a good place if not so many migrants come every year.”
(ABC News)
Greens Senator, Mehreen Faruqi told the crowd that their “anti-racist” message would win out:
“We are loud, we are loving … and we are unstoppable.”
(ABC News)
34m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:24am
Demonstrator says it’s important to ‘support love’
More than 100 people are at the anti-racism rally on Hobart’s Parliament Lawns, with many carrying signs with messages of support for migrants.
Angus Dore told reporter Jessica Moran that he attended because he feels it’s important to “support love and oppose hate”.
“There’s a lot of divisive politics going on at the moment that are trying to divide the working class against each other instead of uniting to stop the rich,” he says.
Rosie Brennan says she’s baffled by the prevalence of fascism in Australia.
“It feels really weird in this current moment where we’re seeing a real resurgence in fascist policies and politics at a national and international level through to grassroots levels,” she says.
Ms Brennan described the March for Australia rally taking place across the road as “a bit of a miserable affair”.
Angus Dore (ABC News: Jessica Moran)
Rosie Brennan (ABC News: Jessica Moran)40m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:18amPolice searches underway in Melbourne
Ahead of the rally in Melbourne, the CBDÂ and botanical gardens have been declared a search area by police.
Officer’s are searching some rally attendees’ bags and using detector wands.
(ABC News: Ben Knight)
42m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
Organiser says ‘racism is not welcome’
A counter-protest to the March for Australia rally has begun in Sydney.
Under the banner of “Unite against racism,” it has been organised by the Refugee Action Coalition.
(ABC News)
Organiser Ian Rintoul said his group couldn’t allow the March for Australia rally to go unanswered.
He said the presence of neo nazis at earlier March for Australia rallies should serve as a warning to anyone considering attending.
“We want to send a very, very strong message that racism is not welcome on the streets of Sydney or anywhere else in Australia.
“I don’t think there’s any excuse for anyone at March for Australia thinking that they’re marching with anything other than the organised far right.”
42m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
Low turnout at Sydney’s anti-racism rally
Sydney’s counter protest to today’s March for Australia rally attracted a small crowd of about 200 people at Belmore Park.
NSW Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Shovan Bhattarai from Students for Palestine and Indinegous activist Paul Silva are among the speakers addressing the crowd.
(ABC News: Nick Dole)
Protester Sabina told the ABC that as a migrant it was important for her to be there.
“I believe we should have an open mind about migrants,” she says.
“They’re certainly not the enemy, and it makes me very sad to see anti-migrant movements here in Australia and the rest of the world.”
Sabina at Sydney’s anti-racism rally. (ABC News)
42m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
Counter protest underway in Hobart
An anti-racism rally is underway in Hobart. Two of the organisers, Matt Hauvrick and Angela Finch told reporter Jessica Moran they hope the demonstration will send a message of hope and togetherness.
“The housing crisis in Australia has many causes but they are not to do with immigration,” Mr Hauvrick says.
“They are to do with millionaire landlords … and big corporations who are making it harder than ever to build a home, to buy a home.
“We need to stand together to change that system to make sure that housing is a human right for all.”
(ABC News: Jessica Moran)
(ABC News: Jessica Moran)
43m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
About 1,000 at anti-racism rally in Melbourne
One of our reporters estimates there’s about 1,000 people in the crowd in Melbourne.
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
(ABC News: Natasha Schapova)
43m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
Video appears to show March for Australia organiser coordinating with Neo-Nazi sat August rally
This is the second round of March for Australia rallies, after the first ones were held on August 31.
ABC Verify — which is a specialist team dedicated to scouring viral photos and video to either confirm their legitimacy or fact-check imagery — has been looking back at footage from that march.
Earlier this week, the ABC Verify team’s Michael Workman and Matt Martino published this report:
A previously unreported video has emerged, appearing to show a key March for Australia organiser coordinating with a Neo-Nazi at the first rally in Sydney in August.
The video shows national organiser Bec Walker, who also goes by Bec Freedom online, appearing to confer with a prominent member of Neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network (NSN) about who should hold the rally’s main banner.
It runs counter to Ms Walker’s claims that she had no control over where people, including NSN members, were positioned during the march.
43m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
Where are people protesting today?
Here’s a list of the planned protests that the ABC knows about – but please keep in mind there may be others we we’re not aware of yet.
The ABC knows of the March for Australia rallies planned in the following locations:
Adelaide, SABrisbane, QueenslandCairns, QueenslandCanberra, ACTDarwin , NTForster, NSWGladstone, QueenslandGrafton, NSWHobart, TasmaniaLaunceston, TasmaniaMackay, QueenslandMelbourne, Victoria Perth , WARockhampton, QueenslandSydney, NSWTownsville, TownsvilleWodonga, VictoriaYeppoon, Queensland
The ABC is aware of counter protests in the following cities:
Adelaide, SABrisbane, QueenslandCanberra, ACTMelbourne, Victoria.Perth, WASydney, NSW
43m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:15am
Counter protest in Canberra
Reporter Penny Travers says there are about 150 to 200 people on the lawns of the National Library for Canberra’s anti-racism rally.
Here’s a few snaps from the scene:
(ABC News: Penny Travers)
(ABC News: Penny Travers)43m agoSun 19 Oct 2025 at 1:14amRallies and counter protests planned across Australia
Good morning, thanks for joining me.
I’m Dannielle and I’m on deck today to feed you live updates of protests from ABC reporters around the country.
We’re looking at two types of protests today.
Here’s very basic, general gist of what those two protests are about:
March for Australia rallies: Organisers say they’re protestingCounter protests: Organised in opposition to the March for Australia rallies, these generally have a message of pro-immigration and anti-racismÂ
Now, that’s a very simplistic view of what’s happening around the country today.
So we’ll be looking to our reporters on the ground to give us a fuller picture of why people are taking to the streets.