Liberal National Party Senator for Queensland, Paul Scarr, has delivered a powerful speech in the Senate, standing in solidarity with Australians of Indian heritage after a racist pamphlet was circulated ahead of a proposed march on 31 August.
The Shadow Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs described the pamphlet as “despicable and vile,” saying it had caused “great distress” to the Indian-Australian community, particularly in Queensland.
Senator Scarr told Parliament:
“I say at this time to Australians of Indian heritage that your community is a great blessing for our beautiful country, for Australia. You belong. You are part of the Australian story, and you have brought so many wonderful things to our Australian community.”
He recalled visiting the Hindu temple in Melbourne earlier this month after it was defaced with racist graffiti, saying:
“An attack on them was an attack on me, an attack on them was an attack on our Australian values.”
Senator Scarr praised the contributions of Indian-Australians during natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the efforts of Sikh gurdwaras, GOPIO Cairns, and the Fiji Senior Citizens Association in supporting fellow Australians in need.
“You do not deserve what is contained in this vile pamphlet. You are the human bridge between Australia and India, and so important for the future of this country,” he said, condemning those responsible as a “very small minority” trying to divide Australians.
Closing his remarks, Scarr declared:
“Light will triumph over darkness, good will triumph over evil, and knowledge will triumph over ignorance. I rise and stand in solidarity with all Australians of Indian heritage.”
‘March for Australia’ rallies are set to take place in nine cities on 31 August, organised by an anti-immigration group calling for an end to “mass migration.” Promoters of the event claim immigration has undermined “Australia’s unity and shared values,” with their flyers warning that “big business” and political leaders are driving a so-called “Big Australia” agenda for profit at the expense of ordinary citizens.
In its campaign material, the group singled out Indian migrants, claiming more Indians had arrived in the past five years than Greeks and Italians over a century, describing migration as “replacement plain and simple.”
Migration critics, however, have condemned the movement as racist and xenophobic, saying it targets communities who have long contributed to Australia’s cultural and economic life.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, Indian-born residents are now the second-largest migrant group in Australia after those born in the United Kingdom, with numbers more than doubling in the past decade to 845,800 people — about 10 per cent of the overseas-born population.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has dismissed the protests as “un-Australian,” insisting that those pushing division have no place in a modern, multicultural Australia.
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