Australia rises for Palestine

Sunday was the biggest nationally coordinated demonstration for Palestine in Australian history. From the centres of the major cities to the smallest of country towns, more than 300,000 people took to the streets to demand an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza—and to denounce the Australian government’s complicity.

In Sydney and Melbourne, crowds nearly 100,000 strong surged through the streets in what can only be described as a national howl of opposition to Israel’s brutality. In Brisbane, 50,000 rallied. In Perth, 20,000. Adelaide, 15,000. A remarkable 4,000 marched in Hobart—one of the largest protests in the city in years.

But just as striking was the response in regional Australia: 3,000 in Newcastle; 1,200 in Coffs Harbour; 600 in Tathra and Katoomba; 450 on the Central Coast; hundreds in Denmark, Devonport, Margaret River, Albany, Mackay, Geraldton and other towns across Western Australia. Even in Broome, Bridgetown, Mount Gambier and Karratha—dozens gathered to say: not in our name.

In Devonport, Tasmania, the organisers—Patrick, Sally, Bill and Jennie—were thrilled by the turnout of more than 300 people. The event began with a “Honk for Palestine”, followed by speeches and a haunting lament on the Great Highland pipes, played by Dave.

In Broome, organisers described a gathering led by both First Nations and non-Indigenous organisers as “the biggest Broome gathering in solidarity with Palestine” since November 2023. “Elders attended alongside newborn babies and families, with people from all faiths, including Muslim and Jewish, in attendance”.

More than 300,000 people demonstrated nationwide—a defiant mobilisation by a movement that refuses to be silenced.

And it could not come at a more critical time.

Just this week, the United Nations confirmed that famine is now a reality in parts of Gaza. The Israeli government is starving children to death. Meanwhile, the military has commenced its military assault on Gaza City—again. This, after nine months of relentless bombing, blockade, displacement and massacres.

The Australian government’s response? Lip service. Weak statements. Continued arms exports. Continued security cooperation. Continued diplomatic cover. Amal Nasser, a leading Palestinian organiser in Sydney, spoke about this in a news interview in the lead-up to the national day of action:

“Declarations by the Australian government for Palestinian recognition have achieved nothing. The week after the government said they would recognise Palestine, the Netanyahu government announced it would invade Gaza City.”

People across the country have had enough.

While people are gunned down at “aid” distribution sites, Labor refuses to impose sanctions, refuses to end the two-way arms trade and refuses to expel the Israeli ambassador.

The Albanese government has been utterly hostile to the Palestinian struggle and the solidarity movement; it has worked with state Labor governments to repress the movement. We’ve had to weather attempts to criminalise us, to smear us as antisemites, to paint our grief and rage as a threat.

But the movement will not go quietly. Voices of resistance, clarity and defiance came from today’s rallies. As veteran Aboriginal activist Gary Foley told the Melbourne crowd: “They may kill the resistance fighters, but they will never kill the resistance”.

Palestinian organisers in Perth wept as they saw thousands pour into the streets. One said they felt like “the tide was turning”.

Omar Hassan, chairing the Melbourne rally, captured the mood:

“They have never seen a movement as persistent and sustained and determined as this one in Australia … When you read the news of the starving children, when you see the press conferences of the chattering classes that do nothing … you will know that you stand on the right side of history.”

In towns and suburbs across the country, people organised demonstrations for the very first time. They printed flyers, booked halls, made placards, called friends. German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg once said you don’t notice your chains if you don’t move. Today, in many places, there was movement for the first time. And with it, the possibility of real, collective strength.

Importantly, this was the first time that trade unions across Australia coordinated national support for Palestine on this scale. Motions were passed, email blasts were sent to members, social media tiles were shared—sometimes for the first time. But there needs to be more. The muscle of the labour movement must be flexed. It is one of the most serious ways governments can be held accountable. A movement that can stop arms shipments, freeze exports and put political pressure on the streets and in the workplaces is the kind of movement we urgently need.

Members of Socialist Alternative and the Socialist Party played an important role in these protests across the country, continuing a long tradition of involvement in the Palestinian solidarity movement well before 2023. Our contribution remains rooted in the belief that building working-class resistance here is essential to confronting imperialism abroad.

This movement is a light in the darkness. Ordinary people—many of them young, migrant, Muslim, and working class—are standing against the genocidal project of one of the most heavily armed regimes on earth, and against the cowardly governments that enable it.

Today was not the end. It was a turning point. A national cry, from the streets of Melbourne to the sands of Broome: End the genocide. Free Palestine.