Multiculturalism & Anti-Racism

In my 16 years as a Member of Parliament in the Legislative Council, I have continuously and proudly served and advocated for the multicultural communities of South Australia.

In response to growing anti-immigration sentiments, I stood in solidarity with our community and voiced serious concerns in my speech in September 2025 calling on Parliament to condemn racism and actively promote inclusion, understanding and respect.

Drawing on my own experience as a first-generation migrant and the challenges facing South Australia’s diverse communities, I call for national action to combat rising extremist rhetoric, strengthen social cohesion, and protect the safety and wellbeing of all Australians.

You can watch the video or read the transcript of my full speech below:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/114086_08a56cac07a24a9f8689217b19fc58ec/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Parliamentary Speech – Legislative Council

Private Members Motion

17 September 2025

MULTICULTURALISM & ANTI-RACISM

The Hon. J.S. LEE (16:50): I move:

That this Council —

I.             Recognises that multiculturalism and diversity are our state’s greatest strengths and that the valuable contributions of our multicultural communities shape the social, cultural and economic development of South Australia;

II.            Rejects all forms of racism, discrimination and hatred and condemns those who would sow fear and division in order to weaken our social cohesion;

III.            Stands in solidarity with our diverse communities and notes that Neo-Nazi rhetoric and rallies such as the March for Australia demonstrations cause distress, division, fear and harm for migrant communities;

IV.            Affirms that everyone has the right to feel safe and welcome in our society and stands together with our diverse communities who have been impacted by the anti-immigration movement;

V.            Acknowledges the ongoing strength, resilience and leadership of South Australian multicultural communities in their antiracism efforts; and

VI.            Calls on the Australian Government to review the national antiracism framework, implement strategies to combat racism, engage with disaffected individuals and groups, and safeguard the safety and wellbeing of our community.

As a first-generation migrant, like many others, I am proud to be an Australian and at the same time cherish my cultural heritage. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that Australia has given to me and my family.

I believe we all aspire to live in a better community, a community that is characterised by trust, respect, open communication and shared values, fostering an inclusive and harmonious environment where people feel valued and connected.

Australia is a multicultural country. I truly believe that multiculturalism and diversity are our greatest strengths.

I cannot count the number of times I have stood in this chamber and declared how fortunate we are that our diverse multicultural communities contribute to every level of our economy and society. I have spoken many times on the anniversaries of major multicultural communities that have contributed to South Australia.

Migrants and their descendants from over 200 countries call South Australia home, and their valuable contributions continue to shape every aspect of life in our amazing state. From the Afghan and Indian cameleers who helped explore and map the outback in the 1800s, to the Italian, Greek and European migrants who helped build our postwar economy, to the vibrant contributions of the Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Nepalese, African, Ukrainian, Afghani, Pakistani, and many other emerging communities today, our diverse communities have shaped our history and our social, cultural and economic development in profound ways.

Everyone in our community has the right to feel safe, to feel welcome, to live peacefully, and to engage fully in our society, no matter where they come from or what their cultural background may be.

There is no place for hatred or racism in Australia.

I recognise racism because I experienced it as a young teenager at school, when I was called 'ching chong' or 'wog'. I went to conferences around Australia during the time when Pauline Hanson was elected, and I was targeted. There were groups calling “Heil Hanson” and all my friends had to stand around me and protect me. I understand what racism is about because I experienced it.

A ‘March for Australia’ rally sounds benign, it even sounds patriotic, but people who planned to attend the March for Australia rallies around the country were marching alongside white supremacists and Neo-Nazis.

The march was advertised as being about ending mass immigration. The media and anti-fascism activists have revealed that some of the organisers of the marches have posted white nationalist ideas like remigration, including pro-Nazi or pro-Hitler memes, and threatened violence. More than one politician has voiced support for the March for Australia, including Independent MP Bob Katter, who threatened to punch a journalist for mentioning his Lebanese heritage when questioning him about his support for the anti-immigration rallies.

These marches can be seen as part of the pattern of Neo-Nazis and fascists becoming more and more emboldened in Australia and overseas, using anti-immigrant sentiment to bring extremist ideas like the mass deportation of non-white people into the mainstream. The hateful white supremacist language, the calls for violence and the talk of mass deportation make it clear that the March for Australia has a much more sinister agenda at its heart. After the Melbourne march, the Neo-Nazi group NSN boasted a surge in membership, meaning it was on track to overtake the Liberal Party membership within18 months, it was reported.

Of course, we cannot forget it is just six years since an Australian white supremacist massacred 51 people and injured 80 others during Friday prayers at a mosque in Christchurch.

There have also been threats that violence will be used at the March for Australia. Sydney organiser Bec Freedom was confronted by the 2GB host Ben Fordham with an audio clip of her saying, 'We need to see violence at the march.' She later apologised, but she continued to be recorded advising people how to introduce far-right ideas to make them sound more palatable to the mainstream.

So: protect Australian heritage, culture and way of life. The next step: protect European culture, heritage and way of life. The next step is to protect white heritage.

Protect white heritage—it could not be more blatant that the far right is carefully using anti-immigration sentiment in the community, trying to bring these white supremacist ideas into the mainstream. The ANU School of Sociology's Simon Copland has warned this should be seen as a red flag. This fresh wave of anti-immigrant protests across Australia has certainly taken an unsettling turn with South Asian communities, particularly Indians, being targeted through racist rhetoric, misinformation and violent attacks.

While it was framed as a protest against government immigration policy and rising living costs, the event was heavily influenced by far-right groups and featured overtly racist messaging, particularly targeting South Asian migrants.

Protesters have seized on migration figures or inflated border arrival numbers to claim Australia is suffering under record high immigration, despite net overseas migration actually falling by 37 per cent from a 2022-23 peak of 538,000 to 341,000 by December 2024, as per the Federal Government's figures cited in The Guardian.

Political leaders, including the Liberal Coalition, such as Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Australia's main centre-right party alliance, and Pauline Hanson, a right-wing populist known for her anti-immigration stance, have echoed housing related anxieties tied to immigration. Blaming migrants, especially communities of colour, for housing woes contradicts Australia's own settler colonial history. European colonisation from 1788 onward led to Indigenous dispossession, yet today migrants from South Asia are framed as threats to the Australian dream.

South Australia's multicultural community has raised these concerns with me, and have described the fear, hurt and disappointment sparked by the anti-immigration rallies held across Australia. Some even compare it to memories of the White Australia policy.

We all have the right to protest, and there are some genuine people who are concerned about the cost-of-living crisis and housing issues, etc. They have their reasons to be there, of course, but demonstrators have given different reasons for attending. Many have said that there were too many overseas arrivals, and their fear is that Australia has become too multicultural. Organisers of the events have been linked to white nationalist views, as I mentioned before, and they claim that the events were about standing up for Aussie culture.

Is this a representation of the modern Australia that we want to be?

That is why I want to bring this motion to this parliament. I want to listen to what other honourable members have to say about this. I want to hear their views. I want to have a rightful debate. I want to hear from the Government and the Opposition and the crossbench members how they feel about this, and whether they are serving constituents who have brought these issues up to them directly as well.

I do not want this to be swept under the carpet.

My motion also reinforces the need for constant advocacy for multicultural Australia and the strength that the broader multicultural communities can give—and have given—to this country. There were matters that have been brought to my attention such as chants of 'Send them back. Stop the invasion' being heard loud and clear. Some attendees openly told me that there are too many Muslims and Indians here.

This is not a genuine policy debate; this is blatant racism. Let us be clear: these demonstrations were not about housing or infrastructure, they were a smokescreen for hate. History teaches us that during times of economic uncertainty far right movements deliberately spread misinformation to manipulate mainstream discourse and exploit legitimate anxieties to scapegoat migrants.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression fuelled xenophobic policies across Europe.

During the height of the COVID pandemic, we saw politicians and media blaming migrant communities for spreading the virus, misleading and offensive references to the 'Chinese virus' and headlines such as 'China Kids Stay Home' published on the front pages of Australian newspapers. Fake news and misinformation spread rampantly online to instil fear, incite hatred and trigger a racist us versus them mentality.

We are seeing this exact formula being deployed again.

These rallies were not isolated incidents. They were part of a coordinated effort to sow fear and division, exploiting economic anxieties to scapegoat migrants and disrupt social harmony in our society. The Neo-Nazi rhetoric and imagery of these rallies cause real harm. Members of migrant communities were sharing safety tips and advising individuals and families to avoid going out in public areas because they feared being the targets of verbal or physical abuse based on their appearance or accent.

We have seen reports from teachers highlighting the alarming surge in Nazi slurs and racist taunts in our schools since these anti-immigration marches took place. One teacher reported that a group of white teenage students chanted 'Deport, deport, deport' and 'Go back to your own country' at a Muslim classmate, ignoring staff efforts to intervene and make them stop. In the past, Neo-Nazis have worn masks and hidden their identities when marching in public, but the fact that they felt emboldened to show their faces and openly label themselves as Neo-Nazis should be of utmost concern to us all.

It shows that they feel they are making headwind and becoming part of mainstream discourse. As housing prices soar and public services strain, some seek easy answers, but blaming migrants is not only wrong, it is dangerous. It is misrepresenting and it is misleading.

Experts have shown that immigration is not the root cause of our housing crisis. There are many factors, including policy settings and systemic underinvestment in housing availability and social housing. In fact, the statistics show that the divorce rate of 50 per cent has a far greater impact on housing availability than migration.

We must not let economic frustration be weaponised into racial hatred.

We must stand in solidarity with our diverse communities, who bear the brunt of these hateful, harmful and false narratives and who have been deeply impacted by the anti-immigration movement.

Despite all this, our multicultural communities continue to lead the fight against racism and promote social harmony, mutual understanding and compassion. I wish to acknowledge and pay tribute to the ongoing strength, resilience and leadership of South Australian multicultural communities in their antiracism efforts.

From organising forums on social cohesion to providing support and assistance to the most vulnerable members of our community, their advocacy and efforts to promote intercultural dialogue and respect are remarkable, in the face of adversity particularly.

But they should not have to shoulder this burden alone.

This motion calls on the Australian government to review the National Anti-Racism Framework. The framework, launched in late 2024, outlines 63 recommendations across the legal, health, education, media and justice sectors. It proposes a whole-of-society approach to dismantling racism and promoting inclusion. It is the first time we have had a national approach to addressing racism, and it is underpinned by antiracism. This means it aspires to more than simply not being racist; rather, antiracism involves identifying, challenging and dismantling racism at the individual level, structural level and institutional level, including parliament.

We must implement the recommendations and strategies outlined in the framework. This will require sustained, coordinated and meaningful action. It is vital that we work together to combat racism, engage with disaffected individuals and groups and safeguard the safety and wellbeing of our community.

I call on all honourable members to support my motion, to stand against all forms of racism, discrimination and hatred and to continue to advocate for a more inclusive and harmonious society.

Acts of fearmongering and incitement of racial hatred have no place in modern Australia.

I commend the motion.