Radical leftist-sponsored immigrant protesters have vowed to continue their noisy demonstrations outside the immigration minister’s Sydney office despite him telling them the noisy was disturbing local residents and asking them to stop.
A loud group of demonstrators beat drums and chanted “we want permanent visa” outside Tony Burke’s office in Punchbowl on Monday, prompting the immigration minister to come out and beg them to keep the noise down.
Mr Burke told the group of so-called refugees that their regular protests demanding they be allowed to stay in Australia forever were turning the community against them, resulting in a deluge of complaints.
“What do we want? Permanent visa!”
“When do we want it? Permanent visa!”
Incoherent chants from “refugee” protesters demanding to be allowed to stay in Australia forever even though they can’t speak English.
Some arrived 12 years ago. pic.twitter.com/XBEgsyH6PF
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) September 2, 2024
But while some protesters suggesting continuing in silence in discussions on social media, most doubled down and advocated persisting with the loud demonstrations.
“We have been silent for more than 12 years,” said one.
“He could make us all happy with some good news, we must continue with the noise,” another argued.
“Making noise forced this guy to come and talk,” said a third, “we must go ahead and get an answer”.
One protester addressed his response to Mr Burke: “Minister, you speak of the disruption to the lives of people who can’t sleep because of our protests. But what about us? What about the people who have lived in this country for more than a decade, without a visa, without a home, and without the basic dignity of being recognised as human beings?”
“You’re worried about the shift workers not getting sleep? We haven’t had peace for years.
“What about the peace that’s been stolen from us? What about the years of our lives that we’ll never get back? You ask us to respect the people in this community, but where was the respect for us? Where is the respect for the human beings who have been forced to live like ghosts in this country?
“We understand that others are affected, and that’s never been our intention. But our suffering is real, and it’s deep. And if a little noise is what it takes to make you finally see us, to hear us, then that’s a price we’re willing to pay. We are tired of being invisible. We are tired of waiting. We want a place to call home, and we deserve the same peace that you’re so eager to protect for others.
“You have the power to change this. Don’t ask us to be silent. Ask yourself why we have had to scream so loud just to be heard.”
Immigration Minister Tony Burke comes out and begs them to stop because everyone is sick of their noise and the local community is turning against them. pic.twitter.com/sdyf9fMN52
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) September 2, 2024
Mr Burke on Monday implored the protesters to be more considerate, speaking slowly since few of the protesters speak English despite being in Australia for 12 years.
“In this local area, up there in the units, there are people who work shift work, the only chance they have to sleep is during the day, every hour you wake them, every single hour, with that drum, and with the chanting,” he said.
“They now haven’t had a proper day’s sleep, except for weekends, for three weeks. That’s not fair for them.”
“I’m not bad boy, I always good,” replied one of the protesters.
“Just behind us there, there are courses that are run, in a cooking course, for young people with disabilities, they’ve had to stop the courses, because of the drums, the chanting and the noise, because it’s freaking the kids out,” Mr Burke continued.
“What’s starting to happen in the community is some people have got so angry … some people are starting to say to me ‘don’t you do anything for those people because they’re wrecking my life’.”
The meeting came after a crowd of mainly Sri Lankan protesters gathered in the migrant-majority suburb before marching to the Mr Burke’s office chanting “free free refugees”.
None of the demonstrators held Australian flags despite wanting permanent residency, and like associated rallies in Melbourne and Brisbane in recent weeks the event appeared to be organised and supported by radical leftist groups such as Socialist Alliance.
Sydney reporter Chriscoveries followed the march and spoke to many of the attendees, but when he asked one of the Sri Lankan demonstrators why he chose Australia and what values he shares with Australians, a White Australian female left-wing protester intervened and would not let the man answer.
Chriscoveries told Noticer News the protest was 80% to 90% Sri Lankan with a few Iranians and a few Whites, that most were economic refugees, and that the White demonstrators were the most disruptive.
“Most of those spoken to could not read the signs they held or speak more than a few words. Those few words were ‘Medicare’, ‘visa’, ‘I pay tax’,” he said.
“Questions such ‘as beyond money why do you want to live in Australia?’ left most shrugging with blank stares, pointing back to their signs and saying ‘it is as the sign is’.
“One Iranian political refugee said there was a vast difference between someone who is economic and someone who isn’t, and that there needs to be a difference in application and processing. We had a great discussion about freedom of speech.
“I had more in common with him than I did with most of the left-wing Whites who were simply there to try and tear down White, Anglo ‘normative’ orthodoxy.”
The permanent visa protests have spread to Sydney and Brisbane from Melbourne, where demonstrators have been blocking the footpath in front of the Home Affairs office in Docklands for weeks, resulting in violent clashes with police and counterprotests by nationalist activists.
Just 12% of the population of Punchbowl had Australian ancestry at the time of the 2021 Census, and the suburb is located in Mr Burke’s electorate of Watson.
That seat is 25.1% Islamic and minority Australian-born, and is set to be targeted by a Muslim voting bloc at the next federal election.
