In Australia, racism is the rule, not the exception.

White Australians must not let privilege blind us to the reality of the racist, colonial systems in which we exist.

Australians in progressive and centrist bubbles have rightly shouted their collective outrage over the weekend’s so-called ‘March for Australia’. Politicians, even, have broadly condemned the movement, telling us Australia is no place for such fringe views, reminding us multiculturalism is the status quo, insisting state-sanctioned white nationalism is but a distant memory.

But this sentiment ignores our reality. We must not forget that Australia is a country founded on genocide, and that until 1975, endorsed racism as national policy under the Immigration Restriction Act (also known as the White Australia policy). Even with multiculturalism as the official political national mandate for decades now, whiteness and colonial violence continue to pervade our institutions - and in 2023 the Australian public loudly rejected any small sliver of hope for change. It’s in this landscape that racism continues to thrive within the community.