Like many people, I unfortunately watched Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address last week. When I told my mum I planned to watch it, she replied in frustration: “Why are they giving her a platform?”
Hanson recited her usual talking points about Australia needing to be “monocultural”, using marginalised Australians as scapegoats for broader social problems. These issues cannot and should not be blamed on minorities; they stem from the entrenched inequalities of a capitalist, colonialist country that in particular subjugates Indigenous people, migrants and other historically disadvantaged communities.
Her rhetoric, which is increasingly accepted by many voters, is concerning. Days after Hanson’s speech, for instance, the Lowy Institute’s annual poll revealed a 17 percentage point plunge in the share of people who say cultural diversity has been good for the country, from 90% in 2024 to 73%.
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With the rise of anti-immigration rhetoric, messages I once criticised as being simplistic, such as appreciating diverse cultures or being tolerant of others, feel radical in their humaneness. The kind of sentiment I was taught in primary school about how difference is what makes our community more exciting, feels so distant. I find myself longing for the return of the messages of anti-racism that I once dismissed.
When my seven-year-old sister dressed up for her school Harmony Day parade this year, my dad sent a long message to the family group chat responding to a photo of her in a tiny Egyptian abaya. He recounted the history of the day, which he said was introduced by the Howard government in 1999 to “hide the longstanding systemic racial discrimination many people have faced in Australia”.
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The day coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was originally meant to commemorate the shooting of anti-apartheid protesters in South Africa in the 1960s.
Having a day to celebrate supposed “harmony” diminishes the ongoing truth of racism in this country, and instead reinforces a comfortable and easy myth: that Australia is a global example of a tolerant and accepting multicultural society.
It may be useful to think of the rise of racism in Australia not as a departure from but an extension of such messaging. There is a risk that simply paying lip service to multiculturalism does more harm than good when it comes to fighting racial injustice.
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Firstly, it creates the false illusion of an accepting and tolerant Australia which has always been dissonant with reality. One Nation and their supporters were for so long seen as an extreme fringe party, when their recent rise reveals a more troubling issue plaguing Australian society. This country, which was founded on colonialism and violence, is far from a functioning multicultural environment.
Hanson’s vitriol hardly stops at immigrants: it is also targeted at First Nations people. At the beginning of her address, Hanson refused to share an acknowledgment of country. Indigenous people, people of colour and immigrants continue to face systemic issues which affect their health, education and employability. They continue to be disproportionately targeted by police and media campaigns which dehumanise them. They often experience racist micro-aggressions and must suffer the brunt of racially charged political rhetoric, which scapegoats and sidelines them.
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Secondly, many narratives which celebrate multiculturalism rely on emphasising what immigrants contribute to society. Much of the rhetoric encouraging us to have empathy for immigrants is conditional on what they bring to Australia. They are good for the labour force. They bring nice food. They have good ethics and discipline. The idea that we extend empathy to individuals based on what they contribute to a capitalist structure strips them of their humanity and instead uses economic metrics to determine whether someone is worthy of joining our community.
Affirmations that immigrants “can assimilate”, or an emphasis on remarkable stories of immigrant achievement or obedience may do well to make their inclusion in Australia more palatable. While this may be necessary, it is unfortunate that a characterisation of immigrants as extraordinarily capable of contributing to society is built within narratives celebrating multiculturalism. Unfortunate not because it is untrue, but rather because it makes our support for racial minorities in Australia conditional.
While I still appreciate such multicultural sentiment, especially in a time where the mere acknowledgment of people of colour as equal and human is contested, I continue to be sceptical of its validity. Simplistic celebration of Australia as a multicultural country hides what this nation truly is: a colonial project which continues to struggle with enrooted issues of racism.
