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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-03 Daily Xml
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Right-Wing Extremism

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (15:32): I could play it safe and stay silent, but when extremist groups co-opt our flag and poison national pride I feel compelled to speak, because people in my community were justifiably horrified by what we saw in Adelaide and across the country this past Sunday 31 August.

I support the right to protest. Peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy, and it should always be protected. However, what we saw on the weekend was not a genuine debate about migration policy: it was something far more insidious. Many of those involved now claim it was not anti-immigration but was about ending mass migration, but the chants of 'send them home', the signs of 'Stop Immigration', and the banners declaring 'White Unity' told another story. That was not policy debate: that was racism, plain and simple. While some may frame it around cost-of-living pressures or infrastructure, let's not kid ourselves: the language that was used on Sunday has long been used to veil a much darker ideology. Real policy debates can and are happening, but they must be rooted in facts, in respect, and in our values—not in hatred and exclusion.

What particularly saddens me is how my own feelings about the Australian flag are changing. As a child, I saw it with pride. I waved it at Australia Day fireworks, I cheered under it at sporting events, I stood with it on ANZAC Day. To me it meant unity, celebration and sacrifice. But today, when I see a flag on the back of a ute or hanging over a fence, or marched through the streets, I do not think of unity. Sadly, I am more likely to assume that it belongs to some right-wing extremist or someone looking for a fight. I know I am not alone in feeling this way.

Let's be honest, this is not the first time. We all remember the Cronulla riots, when the flag was wrapped around shoulders and wielded as a weapon of hate instead of a symbol of pride. That day in 2005 marked a turning point. The flag was hijacked and the damage to its meaning has lingered. That is the real tragedy: extremists have taken something that should make us proud, and they have turned it into something that many now recoil from.

And then, of course, there is the image we all saw on the weekend of the flag worn like some cheap superhero cape. Our flag is not a costume. It is not a prop for bigotry. Draping it across your shoulders while shouting abuse does not make you a hero: it makes a mockery of everything the flag represents. True respect for the flag is not about wearing it on your back, it is about carrying its values in your actions: fairness, decency and giving everyone a fair go.

True Australian pride lives elsewhere. It lives in our classrooms, where children of dozens of cultural backgrounds sit and learn together. It lives in our workplaces, where migrants are the backbone of industries, from health to hospitality. It lives at our clubs, where mums and dads give up their weekends to coach local teams. It lives in our festivals and our food and our music, all which make South Australia so vibrant and unique.

To those who are genuinely worried about housing and health and jobs and bills, I hear you. These are real concerns, but scapegoating migrants will not build a single home or lower a single bill. It only divides us, and division never builds stronger communities, it only tears them apart. Our government is acting on these issues. We are investing in bigger, stronger health systems, building new hospitals, expanding emergency departments, and recruiting more nurses and doctors and ambos so every South Australian can get the care that they deserve.

We are also driving a major program of new housing because we know supply is the key to affordability. Thousands of new homes are being planned and built to ensure that families, young people and older Australians all have a place to call home. These are real solutions grounded in fairness and responsibility, not in fear or division. The Australian flag will always stand taller than the voices of hate. Its meaning is found in the millions of Australians who live by fairness, decency and compassion every single day. That is the pride we carry forward and that is the pride that will shape our future.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Odenwalder): Very well said, member for Davenport. The member for Morialta.

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