As the rising cost of living and housing pressures continue to bite, the populist non-solutions being proposed by One Nation can seem appealing to sections of the working class.
This is one of the reasons why the grassroots anti-racist Hume for Humanity group has called a protest on July 25.
One of the organisers told Green Left: “It will take collective struggle by working people to create a better future and deal a death blow to the racist scapegoating of Pauline Hanson and One Nation.”
The rally at Broadmeadows Town Hall will reject the racist and anti-migrant rhetoric that the establishment media is widely promoting. Hume for Humanity is calling on everyone to attend and keep building the movement against racism.
Sue Bolton, a long-time Merri-bek councillor and the Socialist Alliance candidate for Broadmeadows told Green Left that One Nation’s rhetoric, which is being repeated a lot in the establishment media, is helping “normalise” far-right politics which has no working class solution, leads to bigger divisions and benefits the billionaire class.
“A number of working class people, including from migrant communities, who would ordinarily vote for socialist or Greens, are being convinced of One Nation’s right-wing anti-migrant explanations about the cause of the housing crisis.
“We have to defeat these arguments and explanations. But it’s not enough to confront bad ideas. We need to build a broad-based movement to oppose racism. It has to collectively fight for real solutions to social and environmental concerns.”
The rally has been endorsed by a number of community groups including: Alliance against Islamophobia, Anti-Militarism Action Network,Craigieburn Mosque, Hindus for Human Rights, Hume for Humanity, Federation of Italian Migrant Workers and Families, Free Palestine Coalition Naarm, Free Palestine Dandenong, Free Palestine Melbourne, Greek Australians for a Free Palestine, Green Left, Menzies for Palestine, Merri-bek 4 Palestine, Muslim Voices of Calwell, Refugee Action Collective (Victoria), Refugee Women Action for Visa Equality, Solidarity and Tamil Eelam Solidarity.
The Victorian Trades Hall as well as the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (Vic), Australian Services Union (Vic-Tas), Community and Public Sector Union (Vic) and the Maritime Union of Australia (Vic) have endorsed the initiative. Parties in support are: Socialist Alliance, the Victorian Greens and Victorian Socialists.
Meanwhile, Free Palestine Dandenong has called an anti-racism rally for August 16.
[Join the Hume for Humanity rally on July 25 at Broadmeadows Town Hall. Contact Hume for Humanity if your group would like to endorse it.]