Independent Senator David Pocock has claimed that the anti-immigration rallies across Australia were an expression of a fear that Labor has ‘no plan’ to deal with immigration.
The ACT Senator, who described himself as a ‘first-generation migrant’, said that some of the slogans and flashes of violence at the protests in every major capital city on Sunday were ‘totally unacceptable’.
But the normally progressive Senator offered a surprising take on the driving impetus behind the rallies, claiming that most attendees were motivated by a concern that ‘there is no plan’ on immigration.
‘One of my frustrations has been that there is a real lack of appetite from the parliament to actually have a debate about this in a sensible way, and then come up with a plan when it comes to migration and population that actually wards off some of the feelings of “well, there is no plan”,’ Pocock told ABC TV on Monday morning.
‘I think there should be room for a sensible conversation amongst leaders so that, when people do raise these things, we can actually say, “yes, we have a plan that takes into account infrastructure, skills, and all these things”. But currently, there really isn’t one.
‘We’re not taking into account the required infrastructure, things like impacts on the environment, and when you don’t have a plan, you open yourselves up to the kind of things we saw on the weekend.
‘And for the government – rather than Treasury just setting some sort of arbitrary number every year – to actually say, “okay, this is how valuable migrants are to this country, these are the skill areas that we need, this is how we’re going to do it over time, this is how we’re going to ensure that we’re building enough housing, schools, other infrastructure that is required for a growing population”.’
Senator Pocock, a former professional rugby union player, was born in South Africa and raised in Zimbabwe.
The normally progressive Senator David Pocock (pictured) offered a surprising take on the driving impetus behind the rallies, claiming that most attendees were motivated by a concern that ‘there is no plan’ on immigration
The ACT Senator, who described himself as a ‘first-generation migrant’, said that some of the slogans and flashes of violence at the protests in every major capital city on Sunday were ‘totally unacceptable’
He moved to Australia in 2002 as a teenager after his parents’ farm was subject to a compulsory seizure order by the Mugabe government.
March for Australia protests took place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, as well as some regional cities, to protest the country’s record levels of immigration.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the protests as seeking ‘to divide and undermine’ social cohesion.
Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie also took aim at the protesters, claiming they were ‘causing division’.
‘I just think the other side of the anti-immigration is any an excuse to go out and cause division within the country,’ the Tasmanian Senator told Sky News.
‘They are doing everything that they don’t want this country to be in, which is to be in division. Well, they are causing it and they are part of the problem.’
One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson and federal MP Bob Katter were amongst several opposition politicians who joined the marches.
Police said six protesters were arrested and officers were injured following clashes in Melbourne with counter-protesters.
Police said six protesters were arrested and officers were injured following clashes in Melbourne with counter-protesters (pictured: protesters and counter-protesters scuffle in Melbourne)
Three people were arrested in Adelaide as 15,000 attended the rally while in Brisbane Police estimated around 6,000 protestors were in attendance.
One man was arrested and charged with two counts of assaulting police, and another man was detained for the breach of the peace.
No arrests were made in Sydney or Hobart.
