Democracy in Colour calls on all communities to recognise the severity of this moment as racist hate becomes increasingly prominent in our daily news cycle.
Today Democracy in Colour and GetUp launched a pledge for hope, not hate, asking individuals and civil society groups to stand together against bigotry and actively defend our collective right to live free from systemic prejudice, fear, and vilification. Signatories include The Humanism Project and Hindus for Human Rights Australia.
While economic hardship is real for millions of people in Australia across all racial and cultural backgrounds, Democracy in Colour (DeCo) cautions against political tactics that use fear and scapegoating to turn marginalised communities against one another. A political party built on a long-standing legacy of racist, anti-migrant, anti-Asian, anti-Muslim, anti-First Nations rhetoric will not only institutionalise inequality but accelerate racial profiling and destroy multiculturalism in Australia.
Everyone in Australia deserves affordable housing, fair wages, and strong public services. But looking to political movements built on division will not solve these shared struggles. Scapegoating new arrivals and minority groups only distracts from real policy solutions and leaves all communities worse off.
“We cannot have a proposed migration framework that threatens devastating consequences for our social fabric. By treating migrants and refugees as economic burdens or security threats, these policies seek to weaponise housing and cost-of-living anxieties against vulnerable newcomers. Crucially, penalising new arrivals fails to construct a single affordable home or raise worker wages. Instead, it strips families of stability, fosters systemic insecurity, and entrenches a tier of second-class residents denied basic institutional support,” said Noura Mansour, DeCo National Director.
“When politicians who’ve built their entire career on hate and exclusion while stoking racial violence use migrant communities to further their harmful and regressive political agenda, it only adds insult to injury. Our communities won’t be manipulated or used as pawns in a political game that ultimately risks our safety. We refuse to be weaponised against each other. Migration has always been a natural part of human history and a necessary step towards societal evolution,” said Mansour.
Hindus for Human Rights Australia represents a large and growing number of Indian-Australians who reject the politics of division and hate.
“We have seen the folly of ‘let’s give the far right a chance’ when there are legitimate cost of living pressures in communities: there are political parties that represent only the one percent and do not speak for the working class. We cannot stand with a party that demonises Muslims, directs hate towards Chinese-Australians, and speaks of First Nations peoples in vile, uninformed, and bigoted ways. We reject the politics of courting favour with the far right as a so-called ‘model minority,’ and advocate for an Australia where everyone has dignity, safety, a sense of belonging and can thrive. We stand with all marginalised groups, and with all Australians. We are stronger and better together. We will not pull up the ladder behind us,” said Nandini Sen Mehra, Director of Hindus for Human Rights Australia.
“We urge our communities not to be misled. Restricting migration to ‘skilled only’ abandons Australia’s humanitarian obligations and reflects a troubling absence of compassion. And it will not protect anyone. The rising tide of hate does not check visa categories. Our safety lies in solidarity, not in seeking approval from those who would divide us,” said Deepak Joshi, Director, The Humanism Project.
“Equally alarming is the normalisation of outright anti-First Nations rhetoric, dismissing tens of thousands of years of survival. Such dehumanising language is not just an assault on First Nations people; it is a calculated political attempt to erase 60,000 years of continuous history, knowledge and culture. We need to remind ourselves that the fight against racism must be directly grounded in the rights and sovereignty of First Nations peoples,” Mansour said.
Our strength lies in standing together. When political parties try to pit established migrant communities against newer arrivals or First Nations people, it weakens our collective voice. We need real commitments from all leaders to tackle inequality, protect civil rights, and ensure every community can thrive.
We urge all political parties to stop divisive rhetoric that pit communities against each other and focus on practical solutions to cost-of-living and housing pressures. DeCo stresses that building real economic security requires solidarity across diverse communities rather than embracing political agendas that historically target migrants, refugees, and First Nations people.