Coalition Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has hit back at Teal MP Allegra Spender after she branded anti-migration rallies as ‘neo-Nazi organised,’ accusing her of smearing ordinary Australians who are concerned about Labor’s immigration policies.
The clash follows Liberal MP Andrew Hastie’s warning that Australians are starting to feel like ‘strangers in our own home’ due to record levels of net overseas migration.
‘Australians are locked out of the housing market. Many are house poor, spending most of their income on rent or mortgages,’ he said.
‘Labor talks about a housing supply crisis, but this is a housing demand crisis, driven by unsustainable immigration. It’s that simple.’
Hastie’s comments, which also linked migration to falling birth rates, sparked outrage from Spender, who compared his language to that from British politician Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech.
‘Already we’ve seen neo-Nazi organised anti-immigration rallies. Now disturbing echoes of the racist division of the past have crept into the political mainstream,’ Spender said.
‘Every time I go to a citizenship ceremony and there is a list of 30 or so countries that our new citizens are from, I feel more proud to be Australian, not less. We are a country which shows the world how people from many countries can live together in peace and harmony.’
Price leapt to Hastie’s defence in a fiery statement on Thursday.
‘I entirely disagree with what Allegra Spender said in her statement today, but I welcome her contribution to the migration debate,’ Price said on Thursday.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) has hit back at teal MP Allegra Spender after she branded anti-migration rallies as ‘neo-Nazi organised’
Price claimed that Allegra Spender (pictured) was out of touch with everyday Australians, claiming her ‘affluent electorate’ shielded her from the reality of cost-of-living pain
‘Concerns about mass migration are not from a fringe movement. They are grassroots issues driven by Canberra’s failures. This is a national conversation our country must have.’
Price argued that Spender was out of touch with everyday Australians, claiming her ‘affluent electorate’ in Sydney’s elite eastern suburbs shielded her from the reality of cost-of-living pain.
‘Many Australians are struggling under the cost-of-living, locked out of home ownership, and burdened by the pressures of mass migration,’ she said.
The Indigenous senator defended the March for Australia rallies held on August 31, saying thousands of people had marched ‘peacefully’ to express legitimate concerns about housing, infrastructure and social cohesion.
‘There were some neo-Nazis involved in the marches who were rightly booed by others who marched – and condemned by the rest,’ Price said.
‘But Ms Spender characterised these marches as neo-Nazi organised anti-immigration rallies.
‘Their objective is clear: to impugn the motives of those who marched and to delegitimise the reasonable concerns that millions of Australians have.’
Price drew a sharp line between patriotic Australians and what she described as extremist elements.
‘Since the sordid scenes on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on October 9 2023, many Australians do not recognise their fellow countrymen – those who firebomb synagogues, chant genocidal slogans, wave flags of terrorist organisations, or burn our national flag,’ she said.
The clash follows Liberal MP Andrew Hastie’s warning that Australians are starting to feel like ‘strangers in our own home’ due to record levels of net overseas migration.
‘This nation has generously welcomed millions of migrants to our shores – the vast majority hard-working people who have embraced our values. But we must wake up to the fact there are people who do not want to change for Australia, but want Australia to change for them. And Australians have had enough.’
Price vowed to continue pushing for migration reform, insisting Spender and other critics, including Labor MPs and the Greens, were trying to shut down debate with accusations of racism.
‘Labor, the Greens and the Teals can shout racism and bark insults all they want. But Australians can see their country changing for the worse,’ she said.
‘I’m sure statements like Allegra Spender’s will only see more Australians peacefully take to the streets to express their pride in our country and to send a message to Canberra that they will not be silenced.’
