Opposition Leader Sussan Ley “felt sick” when watching a clip of neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell verbally attack Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan at a press conference on Sept. 2.
Ley warned of a dangerous rise in extremist activity and political intimidation.
“This sickness has to be removed,” she said on Sept. 3.
“We need to de-radicalise, de-escalate, work together as a society to tackle what I’m seeing as a troubling trend—an escalation in political violence,” she told Nine.
She added that she was worried by the increase in hatred and intimidation, and called on the government to do more to remove “this sickness.”
“This is not who we are as Australians. This is not the country that I migrated to as a teenager for a better chance at a life that has delivered so much,” she said
Allan, who was targeted during her press event, later said she was “unharmed and undeterred.” The incident has fuelled fresh debate about how Australia tackles extremism in public life.
Migration Debate Fuels Tensions
The incident comes just days after Australia’s capitals were swept by rallies driven by calls to slow down migration
Asked whether the opposition’s criticism of the government’s migration program was fuelling extremists, Ley said the Coalition was simply highlighting the need for a “sensible, balanced approach” to migration.
“We also know that by bringing in a million migrants over the first two years of this government, with no plan to house them or to put the infrastructure in place to support them … Australians are struggling,” she said.
Ley said the announced permanent intake of 185,000 for 2025–26 was too high and came too late. She also stressed the value of migration to the community.
“I was a migrant, and so it’s not migrants we should blame—it’s government that isn’t getting it right for all of us in this country,” she said.
Albanese Defends Diversity
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the 185,000 figure followed consultations with states and territories and focused on skilled migration.
“The Department of Home Affairs has been processing visas based on last year’s level, so there has been no disruption,” he said.
In parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed back against exaggerated claims from MP Bob Katter, who told a Townsville rally that 400,000 migrants were arriving each year.
“People in this country voted for a government that would understand that modern Australia was a different nation than it was under the White Australia policy,” Albanese said. “Diversity is a strength in modern Australia.”
Figures from the ABS show net migration reached 446,000 in 2024, of which nearly half were international students. While not permanent settlers, their presence has added pressure to housing and services.
Albanese argued this pressure must be balanced against the long-term benefits of migration, which strengthen communities and fuel economic growth.
