This Sunday, thousands will take to the streets for the anti-immigration “March for Australia” rallies around the country.
On the day, people will have different reasons for protesting, and everyone has a right to protest – when it is done peacefully and legally.
But the loud voices behind these rallies are directing their anger at the wrong target.
It is not migrants, but the lack of government planning for growth, that has caused a rift in our society. This has given rise to a movement that wrongly tries to build a narrow vision of fear.
The targeting of our Indian community, in particular, is a shameful echo of the anti-immigrant sentiment once aimed at my own family.
In the 1950s, my Nonna and Nonno, Teresa and Domenico Caruso, arrived in Australia by boat from Italy with nothing but a suitcase. They were two among thousands who came to our shores, full of hope and ready to build a new life.
They worked incredibly hard to learn English, support their family, and build a home for themselves in Reservoir in Melbourne’s north. Their story is one that is shared by millions of Australians.
When they were granted their citizenship, they were the legal equal of any other Australian citizen, no matter their origin. It is this hope and aspiration that makes our nation and our state so special.
Their journey goes to show the powerful promise of Australia: that you can go from one generation arriving in Australia with nothing but a suitcase, to having your grandson represent the most multicultural region in the Victorian Parliament.
Immigration has always been one of Victoria’s greatest economic and social strengths. Our economy has been strengthened by a steady flow of skilled migrants who fill critical labour shortages in vital sectors like technology, healthcare, and hospitality.
Without immigration, we would have fewer engineers to build our infrastructure, fewer programmers to drive our tech sector, or nurses to staff our hospitals. Recent government forecasts predict that Victoria will need over 350,000 new workers by 2026, a demand that can only be reasonably met through a well-managed and generous migration program.
These migrants don’t just fill jobs; they start businesses, pay taxes, participate actively in community and charitable endeavours, contributing to our state’s dynamic character.
The Allan Government is happy to reap these significant economic benefits, while they have completely failed to manage the consequences of population growth.
The social compact for our immigration program is being broken, not by migrants, but by governments that aren’t holding up their end of the bargain.
In the fast-growing suburbs of Melbourne, where many of our newest migrant families settle, roads are choked with traffic, schools are overflowing, and public transport is stretched to breaking point.
These communities are desperate for investment, but the government’s response has been to neglect these growth corridors in favour of headline-grabbing projects like the Suburban Rail Loop, which has seen costs blow out, just like every other Labor major project.
The starkest example of this misplaced blame was a recent viral Instagram reel by an Indian Australian showing the reality of a weekday morning at Tarneit Station in Melbourne’s West.
Hundreds of people were left on the platform, failing to get on a packed three-car V/Line regional train.
Instead of blaming Jacinta Allan and Labor, who for the last two elections have promised and failed to electrify this rail line, commenters chose to blame the commuters themselves, largely of Indian origin.
The Victorian Liberals and Nationals support a generous and sustainable immigration program. We believe in an immigration policy that not only welcomes new Victorians but also ensures they can thrive.
This means building the roads, schools, hospitals, and transport links that are desperately needed in our growth areas. It means planning for the future, not just reacting to the present.
The Allan Government’s failure to do this is not just a policy blunder, it is a failure of leadership that unfairly invites the blame to be placed on new arrivals for a crisis of the government’s own making.
The “March for Australia” rally is a protest against a scapegoat, not the real problem. The real problem is a government that has mismanaged our state’s growth and failed its citizens—both those who have been here for generations and those who have only just arrived.
We must reject the politics of division and fear. Our future success depends on our ability to embrace the benefits of immigration while holding our government accountable for providing the infrastructure that will ensure our state can continue to prosper for all of us.
Author: Evan Mulholland is the Liberal Member for the Northern Metropolitan Region and the Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this Op-ed are the author’s personal opinions. The Australia Today is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. The information, facts, or opinions appearing in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Australia Today, and The Australia Today News does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
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