Thousands of anti-immigration protesters took to the streets across Australia on August 31, 2025, using language from the debunked white nationalist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. The demonstrations occurred in several cities and were associated with right-wing extremist groups, including neo-Nazis.Â
“March for Australia” protests
- Widespread rallies:Â Rallies, organized under the banner “March for Australia,” took place in major cities and regional centers. In Sydney, between 5,000 and 8,000 people attended the march.
- Targets of protest:Â Flyers for the protests explicitly focused on Indian migration, using language like “cultural replacement” and claiming that new migration levels were “a replacement, plain and simple”. Protestors expressed discontent with high immigration levels and their perceived impact on housing affordability and infrastructure.
- Extremist involvement:Â The protests were linked to far-right and neo-Nazi groups, as well as anti-lockdown figures who gained prominence during the pandemic. One prominent figure involved was Joel Davis, a white nationalist.
- Government condemnation:Â The federal government publicly condemned the rallies, stating they were intended to “spread hate” and were “organized and promoted” by neo-Nazi groups.
- Counter-protests and clashes:Â Anti-fascist and other counter-protesters also gathered, leading to clashes with police in Melbourne.Â
The “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory
- Origin:Â The theory, popularized by French writer Renaud Camus, alleges that white populations are being intentionally and conspiratorially replaced by non-white immigrants.
- Debunked claims:Â Mainstream scholars have dismissed this theory as racist and unfounded, noting it is based on distorted demographic data.
- Connection to violence: The “Great Replacement” theory has been linked to acts of violence by white supremacists worldwide, including the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in neighboring New Zealand. The Christchurch attacker, who was Australian, titled his manifesto The Great Replacement.
- Normalization of rhetoric:Â The phrase “forced population replacement” used by some protesters in Australia mirrors this conspiracy theory, and this rhetoric has been increasingly normalized in far-right circles.Â
Historical context in Australia
The use of “replacement” rhetoric by some anti-immigrant protesters in Australia is particularly controversial given the nation’s history of forcibly removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. These “Stolen Generations” experienced a policy that a 1997 report described as a form of genocide. Australian historian A. Dirk Moses has noted that replacement theory is a form of “psychological projection” by descendants of settler-colonial societies who fear they will be replaced, just as their ancestors replaced native populations.Â
