‘Frightening’ Warning From Victoria’s Migrant Communities as Racism Tops Their Concerns for the First Time and One Nation Surges Ahead of the State Election
- Racism has become the number one concern for members of Victoria’s peak multicultural body for the first time, with some migrants reporting being abused in the street.
- One Nation, polling in double digits, released campaign videos showing a machete-wielding man of African appearance and a suicide bomber declaring he “shouldn’t have been let in”. The party insists the videos are not racist.
- A pollster says some conservative Indian-Australians appear ready to vote Labor tactically to keep One Nation out.
- In Shepparton, a city built by refugees and migrants, a mother born in Mumbai says: “This is my home. And I’m here to stay.”
On a floodlit pitch in regional Victoria, teenagers from ten countries shout to each other in 15 languages as they chase the same ball.
Off the pitch, many of their families say the mood has changed.
With Victorians heading to the polls on November 28, community leaders say anti-immigrant rhetoric is making migrants feel unwelcome and, in some cases, unsafe. They warn the damage to social cohesion could outlast the campaign.
The Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria has revealed that racism now tops the list of worries raised by its members. It is the first time the issue has ranked first in the council’s annual survey.
Chief executive Farah Farouque blamed talk of “monoculturalism”, a phrase linked to One Nation’s campaign. She said the rhetoric had frightened some people and alienated others, and that some members reported being abused directly on the street.
Her warning comes as Pauline Hanson’s party records its strongest Victorian polling in years. It sits in double digits in a three-way contest.
The Coalition, led by Jess Wilson, leads the polls, with Ben Carroll’s Labor government in second place.
The campaign has been marked by One Nation’s online material. One video shows a young man of African appearance swinging a machete.
It also features a suicide bomber who appears to be of Middle Eastern descent saying he should not have been allowed into the country. The party says the video is not racist.
A second clip, filmed among New Year’s Eve crowds in Melbourne’s CBD, focuses heavily on people with black and brown skin. In it, the party’s Victorian secretary challenges viewers to “spot the Westerner”.
One Nation Victoria did not answer written questions about whether its messaging was making migrant communities feel less safe.
Shepparton shows what is at stake.
Nearly one in five residents of the Goulburn Valley city were born overseas, and locals trace their roots to more than 100 ancestries. Many arrived within the past decade.
They work as teachers, nurses, mechanics, engineers and factory hands.
Their children now fill the trial rosters of the Goulburn Valley Suns under-18s. Some dream of following Pelé, Maradona or Socceroos rising star Nestory Irankunda.
One of them, Jacques Safari, arrived in Australia aged seven after time in a refugee camp in Kenya. He said Shepparton feels far more welcoming and diverse than other parts of the country he has seen.
The city reflects the state as a whole. At the 2021 census, 30 per cent of Victorians were born overseas, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The anxiety in migrant communities did not begin with this state campaign.
immigration has dominated national debate, driven by pressure on housing affordability and the cost of living. One Nation is promising the deepest cuts, but Labor and the Coalition have both also pledged to reduce Australia’s migrant intake.
Migration is controlled by Canberra, not Spring Street. Even so, it has become a central theme of the Victorian campaign, and One Nation’s material has pushed it to the front.
For youth mental health worker Neha Samar, the debate became personal.
Ms Samar moved from Mumbai to Shepparton, where she built a career and raised a family. During a recent chat, a friend of more than ten years told her she was excited about One Nation.
Her first instinct was to ask why. She held back and chose to approach the conversation with curiosity instead.
She admits the exchange left her feeling like an outsider. It also started a wider conversation in her community about how newcomers are welcomed.
People fear what they don’t understand, she reflected, and the discussion showed her how others think about immigration and how that thinking might be challenged.
Analysis: What This Means for Australia
The impact on communities is the most immediate concern. When the state’s peak multicultural body says racism has overtaken every other worry, including rents, jobs and services, it signals that many migrants feel targeted.
That has public safety implications.
Reports of people being abused in the street will concern Victoria Police and authorities responsible for preventing hate crimes, particularly after a period of heightened community tension across the country.
There are economic stakes too. Regional centres like Shepparton depend on migrant workers in farming, food processing, health and aged care.
If those families feel unwanted, it could worsen skills shortages already affecting regional Australia.
The election itself is also showing unusual patterns. Former Labor strategist and pollster Kos Samaras said Victoria was seeing “very unusual” voting behaviour.
His figures suggest that among Indian-Australians, Labor wins about 70 per cent of the two-party vote when its opponent is One Nation. Against the Liberals, that falls to about 55 per cent.
That indicates a minority of the community backs One Nation. It also suggests some conservative Indian-Australian voters would vote Labor tactically to block the minor party.
One Nation rejects the claim that it is hostile to migrants. Victorian leader Warren Pickering told reporters more than 35 per cent of the party’s Victorian members were born overseas.
He said lingering fears came from past prejudice and stigma attached to the party. He said One Nation was trying to open dialogue with all communities, regardless of ethnic background, and that nobody should fear a One Nation government.
Mr Samaras noted that the figure would likely include members born in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Social cohesion researchers say the effects of campaign messaging can continue long after polling day, particularly for children who absorb the tone of public debate. Community workers warn that videos linking migrants with violence can encourage abuse by people who already hold hostile views.
Political observers believe One Nation’s polling will force the major parties to decide how far to engage with its immigration message. Each choice carries risks in multicultural seats across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Back in Shepparton, Ms Samar says her city remains largely welcoming, whatever the national mood.
She has vowed to do everything she can to ensure the next generation, the children on the soccer pitch, can grow up without being made to feel they don’t belong.