{"id":944826,"date":"2026-10-29T06:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/944826\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T06:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T06:12:21","slug":"in-victorias-election-race-some-fear-one-nations-rhetoric-is-stirring-ugly-divides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/944826\/","title":{"rendered":"In Victoria’s election race, some fear One Nation’s rhetoric is stirring ugly divides"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say soccer is the world game.<\/p>\n

And nowhere in Shepparton does the phrase come more to life than at trials night for the Goulburn Valley Suns under-18s.<\/p>\n

Ten nations and 15 different languages take to the pitch in regional Victoria, aiming their sights on becoming the next Pel\u00e9, Maradona or Nestory Irankunda.<\/p>\n

The budding soccer stars have parents who work as teachers, mechanics, engineers, nurses, and factory workers.<\/p>\n

\"Teenage<\/p>\n

Trials night for the Goulburn Valley Suns under-18s showcases Shepparton’s multicultural diversity. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Many arrived in the northern Victorian region over the past decade.<\/p>\n

Jacques Safari came to Australia aged seven via a refugee camp in Kenya.<\/p>\n

“In other places in Australia, you see there’s not really that much of a multicultural [community], but here in Shepparton, it’s very welcoming,” he said.<\/p>\n

Nearly one in five residents in Shepparton were born overseas, hailing from more than 100 different ancestries.<\/p>\n

It is a snapshot that speaks to the broader diversity of Victoria, where 30 per cent of people were born outside of Australia at the time of the 2021 census.<\/p>\n

As Victoria’s hotly contested state election plays out, some of those diverse communities are sounding the alarm on a rise in racist rhetoric.<\/p>\n

Youth mental health worker Neha Samar started life in Mumbai before building a career and a family in Shepparton.<\/p>\n

“I love Shepparton \u2026 this is the place that has really welcomed me,” she said.<\/p>\n

But recently, Ms Samar had a chat with a friend and talk turned to the upcoming election.<\/p>\n

\"Ethnic<\/p>\n

Neha Samar says conversations over immigration helped to break down barriers.\u00a0 (ABC News: Andrew Manglesdorf)<\/p>\n

“We’ve been friends for a very long time, more than a decade, since I moved to Shepparton,” she said.<\/p>\n

“She tells me how excited she is about One Nation. My initial feeling is to say ‘why are you saying this?’ \u2026 I took a step back and I decided to approach with curiosity.<\/p>\n

“And she said that, oh, you know, there’s a big issue with immigration right now. But Neha, you’re one of the good ones and you’re not the problem.”<\/p>\n

Ms Samar said the conversation initially left her feeling alienated but also prompted a wider discussion in the community about welcoming newcomers.<\/p>\n

“You fear what you don’t know… that’s what humans do,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s been really revealing as to what the overall thinking is [about immigration] and how we go about challenging that thinking.”<\/p>\n

The Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria told the ABC racism had topped the annual list of concerns from its membership for the first time.<\/p>\n

\"Ethnic<\/p>\n

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria chief executive Farah Farouque is concerned by anti-immigrant rhetoric. (ABC News: Kyle Harley)<\/p>\n

“This rhetoric, this talk of monoculturalism<\/a> has been actually frightening for some and alienating for others,” the council’s chief executive Farah Farouque said.<\/p>\n

“Some people \u2026 find that they’re being directly abused on the streets.”<\/p>\n

One Nation and the Victorian election<\/p>\n

On the national stage, debate over immigration has loomed large.<\/p>\n

One Nation has promised the most dramatic cuts to immigration \u2014 and Labor and the Coalition have also committed to cutting Australia’s migrant intake<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While immigration is not something controlled by state policy, Victoria’s election year has coincided with the release of controversial campaign material from One Nation targeting migrants.<\/p>\n

One video, which the party insists is “not racist”<\/a>, features a young man of African appearance wielding a machete and a suicide bomber who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent saying “I shouldn’t have been let in”.<\/p>\n

Another video filmed during New Year’s celebrations in Melbourne’s CBD heavily features people with black and brown skin, with the party’s Victorian secretary asking viewers to “spot the Westerner”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

One Nation has been polling in the double digits ahead of the November 28 state election, in a three-horse race with the Jess Wilson-led Coalition topping the polls and Ben Carroll-led Labor in second position.<\/p>\n

Polling suggests the minor party has some support among established migrant groups in Australia<\/a>, but researchers have also found examples where conservative migrant voters would vote Labor to stop One Nation.<\/p>\n

Former Labor strategist and pollster Kos Samaras said the current situation in Victoria was triggering “very unusual” voting behaviour.<\/p>\n

As one example, he said the two-party preferred vote between Labor versus One Nation in the Indian-Australian community, is around 70 per cent for Labor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“That means there is a portion, a minority [of that community], that are supporting One Nation,” Mr Samaras said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same constituency returns a 55 per cent Labor vote in a two-party preferred Labor\/Liberal race.<\/p>\n

Mr Samaras said this “clearly” shows that there are “conservative voting Indian Australians who would tactically vote for Labor to stop One Nation”.<\/p>\n

One Nation Victoria did not respond to written questions about whether its messaging was contributing to migrant communities feeling less safe.<\/p>\n

When asked about the rhetoric of his party on immigration at a press conference, One Nation’s Victorian leader Warren Pickering told the ABC more than 35 per cent of the party’s Victorian members were born overseas.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

One Nation Victorian state leader Warren Pickering says more than a third of his party’s members were born overseas. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

“There’s always going to be people that have concerns because they’ve maybe swallowed some of the previous prejudice or stigma associated with this party,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Now, we are trying to break down some of that stigma, providing the open advocacy and allowing dialogue with all of our communities, regardless of their ethnic origins.<\/p>\n

“So nobody need fear a One Nation government.”<\/p>\n

Pollster Kos Samaras noted the 35 per cent born overseas figure would presumably also include people born in New Zealand, the UK and South Africa.<\/p>\n

More on the Victorian election<\/p>\n

Back in Shepparton, Ms Samar said whatever the political mood may be, Shepparton remained a largely welcoming community.<\/p>\n

“This is my home. And I’m here to stay,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Ethnic<\/p>\n

Neha Samar says she wants the next generation of Shepparton residents to embrace the city’s welcoming ethos.\u00a0 (ABC News)<\/p>\n

“I’m going to be doing everything in my power to make sure that the next generation that grows up in this beautiful multicultural space.<\/p>\n

“[Whether that’s] playing soccer, playing their favourite sport, that they’re able to, like, look at each other and not feel like they belong or they don’t belong.”<\/p>\n

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