In the final stretch of the federal election campaign, a newly formed grassroots alliance is gaining momentum by amplifying the voices of Australians from Jewish, Hindu, Iranian, Sri Lankan, Filipino, and other minority backgrounds.
The Minority Impact Coalition (MIC) is throwing its weight behind conservative candidates, arguing that Labor and the Greens have failed to address rising extremism, antisemitism, and community safety.
With the slogan “A stand against hate, from those who know it firsthand,” the coalition says it represents Australians who have lived through persecution abroad and are now confronting similar dangers here at home. The group has been active in recent weeks, rolling out billboard campaigns, digital trucks, and more than 200,000 flyers across key electorates, urging voters to reject what it calls the complacency and denialism of the political left.
“Why is Australia protecting terror supporters? Why won’t Australia put Iran’s IRGC on the terror list?” asks Azin Naghibi, a former Iranian refugee and ex-Muslim activist who now serves as MIC’s co-director.
“We have been fighting alone for so long… It’s time to come together, all of our communities, and protect Australia from importing foreign threats.”
Naghibi’s comments reflect years of frustration among Iranian Australians who have lobbied for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be formally designated as a terrorist organisation—a move made by the United States and Canada, but not yet adopted by Australia. While successive governments have taken diplomatic caution, MIC says the cost of inaction is now too great.
For Hindu Australians, the focus is on repeated attacks on temples and what community leaders see as a growing ideological hostility to their faith.
“Our pain doesn’t fit the narrative—so it’s ignored,” said Margesh Raval from Hindus of Australia.
“In the last two years, the radical left has taken over all the narratives. The real minorities are suffering.”
The coalition has also called out the Australian Labor Party for what it says is selective outrage. Despite recent warnings from ASIO that Australia faces a 50% chance of a mass-casualty terror attack within the year, MIC believes authorities and politicians are avoiding the ideological roots of extremism, particularly those rooted in foreign conflicts.
“Radicalisation is targeting our youth. We’ve seen Hezbollah flags on our streets. We’ve seen violent pro-Khalistan protests,” said Joshu Turier, co-director of MIC and an eighth-generation Australian.
“And still—Labor refuses to act. When politicians are too weak to stop public promotion of terrorist propaganda and antisemitic hate crimes, no one is safe.”
Among the coalition’s sharpest criticisms is the Greens party, which it accuses of supporting divisive and extremist positions that endanger national cohesion. MIC says that Jewish Australians, Hindus, and Iranian dissidents are often left politically homeless, dismissed by progressives and ignored by centrists.
Roz Mendelle, an Israeli-Australian and co-director of MIC, said the upcoming election is about more than partisanship—it’s about taking back power from those who have ignored the realities of growing hate.
“This is life or death for Jewish Australians and everyone else,” she said. “We must stop just pitting Jews and Muslims against each other and understand that radicalisation is a global problem that affects everyone.”
“Right now, we must try to get a change in government, but after the election, our work is far from over.”
The coalition says its campaign is just beginning and promises to remain active beyond election day. It aims to develop long-term strategies to counter extremism, support whistleblowers from within minority communities, and pressure Canberra to adopt stronger national security positions—particularly in relation to foreign influence and terror-linked organisations.
As voters head to the polls on May 3, MIC hopes their message resonates: that a truly multicultural Australia must also be a safe one, and that silence in the face of rising hate is no longer an option.
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