Patriotic Aussies are planning nationwide protests against the Labor government’s “hate speech” laws, banning of rival political parties and ongoing efforts to censor the internet.
The “defend free speech” rallies were announced on Sunday by right-wing activist Hugo Lennon, who goes by Auspill online, and March for Australia, which organised massive anti-mass immigration rallies in August last year.
According to a flyer posted on social media which links to the group’s website, the rallies will be held on Sunday August 30 at 12pm in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide.
In a video about the rallies, Mr Lennon declared that “free speech is under attack” and said “[Prime Minister Anthony] Albanese and the uniparty want to take away your right to disagree with them”.
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“The traitorous Labor government and their uniparty colleagues have launched an unprecedented assault on freedom of speech, they can’t beat us in the free marketplace of ideas so they’ve moved to criminalise patriotic dissent in a desperate bid to hold onto power,” he wrote in the caption.
“Patriots must assemble in every city across Australia on August 30 to once again March For Australia, we must take a stand for free speech and push for our right to oppose the mass immigration multicultural agenda before this police state grows too entrenched to reverse.
“There is no such thing as ‘hate speech’, there is no such thing as a ‘hate group’, the Anzacs died for a free Australia and free Australia we will have.
“We must push our politicians to repeal 18C, repeal all hate speech laws, repeal the hate group bill, and hold a free speech referendum to enshrine it in our constitution. Join us on the 30th of August, bring your Aussie flag, and march with us for a free Australia.”
The rallies come ahead of a High Court challenge to the prohibited hate group laws by the White Australia Party, which was banned under the new legislation in May, and amid growing anger at Australia’s increasingly harsh restrictions on freedom of speech, and the eSafety Commissioner’s censorship of the internet.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has vowed to repeal the new laws passed by both major parties in response to the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack, along with Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which was used by Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi to sue her over a tweet saying “p*ss off back to Pakistan”.
United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet has repeatedly called for freedom of speech to be enshrined in the Constitution, and NSW Libertarian Party MP John Ruddick spoke out about online censorship, including the banning of The Noticer from X, in NSW Parliament last week.
“This battle over free speech will go on and on until we amend the NSW Constitution and the Commonwealth Constitution to enshrine the citizens’ right to free speech, and to place this matter beyond the remit of the state to control in any way,” Mr Ruddick said.
Header image: Left, rally organiser Hugo Lennon (Instagram). Right, a flyer for the protests (March for Australia).
