Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for the Australian Government to take immediate action to tackle racism, the emboldening of the far-right and the rise of neo-Nazism and reject white supremacy and extremism as evidenced by the anti-immigrant 'March for Australia', the violent attack on Camp Sovereignty, and the racist rally outside the New South Wales Parliament.

The far right is surging and racism is rising because politicians and the media have spent years dog whistling, scapegoating and stoking resentment. Now the consequences are erupting all around us. Communities are scared; hate crimes are rising; Neo-Nazis are emboldened. Politicians and the media cannot now pretend to be shocked that the wolves have arrived at the door.

Racism is raging more openly and more viciously than I have ever seen in my time in this country, and the far right is gaining ground and not just because of their own bile; they get a free kick from the Liberal Party, which is now so desperate for relevance that it jumps to answer the calls of open racists. Just weeks after Neo-Nazis marched through our streets calling for an end to Indian immigration and the expulsion of black and brown communities from what they call 'white Australia', what did the Liberals do? They called for an 'Australian values' screening for migrants—as though the people who come here fleeing war, poverty and persecution are the ones who lack values, and not the politicians who demonise them every single day.

But even trickier to confront than the open hatred spewed by the Liberal Party is the sly racism executed by a political party that claims to know better—Labor—because, while the Liberals shout their racism loudly, Labor writes it quietly into law. In Victoria, a Labor government has announced laws allowing children to be locked up for life—laws that we all know will disproportionately incarcerate First Nations and black and brown children. There is nothing more racist than designing a justice system whose default setting is to punish the marginalised.

In New South Wales, the Minns government green-lights Neo-Nazi gatherings on the steps of parliament, while passing draconian anti-protest laws targeted squarely at pro-Palestine protesters calling out Australia's complicity in genocide. They have criminalised dissent rather than confronting their own failures.

And the Albanese government has set a shameful national standard. The government's anti-refugee and anti-migrant legislation has been cruel, unnecessary and deeply shameful.

But there is another truth that we must not shy away from. The far right grows in the cracks of inequality. It feeds on desperation. It recruits from the communities governments have abandoned. When people cannot afford rent, when they're working three jobs just to stay afloat and when the cost of living is crushing them and they see no political will to change it, the far right steps in with someone to blame.

If this government is serious about change, it must tackle racism and it must tackle the economic conditions that allow racism to grow. We cannot ignore the housing crisis, the skyrocketing cost of living and rising inequality and then act shocked when the far right exploits people's fears and frustrations. We need real investment in public and affordable housing. We need a rent freeze. We need to lift income support above the poverty line. We need fair wages, secure jobs, free education and an economy built on care and community, not on extraction and exploitation, because, when people have stability, dignity and a roof over their head, they are not so easily seduced by those peddling hate.

The Albanese government is failing to do their primary job—to look after people—and that failure has fed the far right, who are now marching openly on the streets in our cities. They're on the verge of forming a white Australia party. They call for a white revolution. They train. They recruit. They celebrate hate.

So today I make this plea. Open your eyes. Drop the denial. Stop gaslighting people who highlight racism and the many failures of this government. Face the racism that is spilling onto the streets and dripping off the walls of this parliament.

This is not a moment of political calculation. This is not a moment for more inquiries or envoys. This is a moment for courage, for truth, for justice and for action.