raising serious questions about police conduct and institutional responses to neo-Nazi groups in Australia.

The march on Sunday, which saw members of the self-described neo-Nazi National Socialist Network (NSN) lead chants of “Australia for the white man”, culminated in a group of 50 men storming Camp Sovereignty – the site of a historic Aboriginal burial ground in the city. The attack left four people injured, with two hospitalized for severe head wounds. The “March for Australia” protest against mass immigration came just one week after more than 350,000 people marched across Australia in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war on Gaza.

Far-right and neo-Nazi connections were evident in the organization of the march. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), prominent far-right figure Hugo Lennon, an associate of the neo-Nazi NSN, was listed as an original organizer before being quietly removed from the event’s Facebook page days prior. In a statement released a day before the march, Thomas Sewell, leader of the NSN, declared, “March for Australia is about stopping immigration. No illegal actions or gestures will be performed by our members on the day.” For some, the ensuing violence at Camp Sovereignty made clear the event’s underlying intentions. “The rally was never about immigration but an excuse to parade white supremacist ideas in Australia,” said Ilo Diaz from the Centre Against Racial Profiling. 

The camp is considered a sovereign embassy of Australia’s First Nation people and a sacred space dedicated to honoring Indigenous ancestors and healing generational trauma within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, particularly the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

Established in 2006 by elders Robbie and Marg Thorpe, Camp Sovereignty marks the site of an Indigenous ceremonial place and burial ground, and has come to symbolize ongoing Indigenous resistance in Australia, advocating for an end to genocide and recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and land rights. (Aljazeera)