There were wild scenes in the Senate yesterday evening after One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts called for an inquiry into mass migration…

Following the March for Australia events in capital cities around Australia, Senator Roberts posted a signed ‘Notice of Motion’ to move a matter to the Economics References Committee for inquiry.

‘The impact of high immigration levels on the Australian economy, with particular reference to: home prices, rental prices, and rental vacancy rates; the Wage Price Index; the inflation rate; labour productivity growth; accuracy of government projections on immigration numbers; and any other related matters.’

Today I will ask the Australian Senate to establish an inquiry into the impact of immigration on our economy.

The Australian public and the government must be properly informed about the data and the impacts of this policy. Without that, there can be no genuine policy debate or… pic.twitter.com/6a1FJiYA8D

— Malcolm Roberts ?? (@MRobertsQLD) August 31, 2025

Senator Roberts added in his speech:

‘We just want the pure facts and the data to be communicated to the Australian public. No labels. No smears. Just data and facts. We love data.

‘Over the weekend, tens of thousands of Australians marched asking for an answer on this question: What is the cost of adding millions of people to Australia’s population in just a few short years?

‘If the data shows that immigration is our strength, then let the Australian people see for themselves. Let those cards fall where they may.’

He added later, ‘The Greens and Labor are lying. They are scared of the conversation because the facts are devastating … if your rent has gone up in the last four years as the mass migration program continues, there are 2.9 million reasons why.’

Well, this has triggered a wave of outrage rarely seen in the Senate.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young stood and said she wished to continue to the debate. Here is what she said:

‘I’m appalled that after the displays yesterday of members of far-right Neo-Nazi groups – of Sovereign Citizens – decrying that the cop killer, Desmond Freeman, was somehow some type of martyr and hero that we get into this chamber today and hear that rubbish from One Nation.

‘I mean – I’m sorry. But there are two dead policemen. Their families are suffering. The communities that they live in are shell-shocked. And rather than being the bigger people in this place, you have One Nation come in here and legitimise it. It’s disgusting and it’s revolting.

‘And One Nation have created their entire political-’

Ms Hanson-Young was then asked to take her seat for a minute while Senator Robert objected on a point of order.

‘Point of order. The relevance? Because we have very terrible murders of two policemen before the marches. It had nothing to do with the marches… This is ridiculous.’

Keep in mind, the motion is about mass-migration, not the events are alleged to have taken place regarding the murder of two policemen.

Senator Roberts is asked to take his seat. ‘Senator Roberts, you don’t have a point of order.’

Ms Hanson-Young stands again and continues:

‘I have not heard the Leader of One Nation, or any members of One Nation in this place condemn the murder – the cold-blooded murder of those police officers and condemn the actions of that group.’

Senator Roberts once again has a point of order in which he says, ‘Relevance? Relevance??? We have condemned the heinous murder of two policemen.’

Senator Hanson-Young continues, even though One Nation is watching on bewildered.

‘Coming in here today to legitimise the glorification of these – of this cop killer – should be beneath any of this. And sadly, it’s not. And this is because One Nation have built their entire political foundation on fear-mongering, division, and not just pseudo-law, but pseudo-maths, pseudo-science, and now pseudo-economics.

‘The only reason that One Nation exists is because they continue to whip up fear and division in our communities. They’re like a toxic algae that feeds on this fear and division. They’re like a disease that loves preying on the weak.’

At this point One Nation Senator Whitten stands up and says, ‘I don’t like being referred to as a “disease” or “toxic algae”.’

No kidding. Most people are probably reading this in astonishment. An old saying comes to mind, ‘What does this have to do with the price of tea in China?’

‘There is no point of order,’ Senator Whitten is reminded, but Senator Hanson-Young and others are essentially told to be more polite.

Senator Hanson-Young returns to the floor.

‘There are members of our community who are worried about the cost of housing, the cost of living, how they’re going to cover next month’s bills. And dealing with those issues in a responsible way, holding government to account where they need to be held to account, asking the questions of bureaucrats that are legitimate and need to be asked, is what this place is meant to do. But using vulnerable members of our community and migrants as a scapegoat for inequality is pathetic, it’s cheap politics, and it’s weak. And that’s what One Nation does. And that’s what this motion is all about.

‘Now, I would have thought that after this weekend’s rallies – the display and the glorification of people who have killed police officers of the glorification of Neo-Nazis that there would be some reflection on what this is doing to our community and our society. But the only reflection we seem to be getting from One Nation today is they’re rubbing their hands in glee and wanting more of it.

‘They are feeding on this nastiness. On this division. On this fear.

‘I mean, if they had it their way we would have the race riots that the US have had here in Australia. They’d be cheering it on.

‘We are not America. Australia is built on multiculturalism. Our nation is diverse.

‘But you can’t take that for granted. We can’t take it for granted. It has to be – it’s something that you nurture and look after and protect. We don’t always agree on everything, of course not. That’s why we’re a democracy. We’re able to debate things – we should be able to debate things without sinking to the level of dividing people by the colour of their skin or where they were born.’

Respectfully, Senator Hanson-Young. ‘Division’ based upon skin colour and where people are born is exactly why people were marching over the weekend.

The rise of identity politics and with it, the vicious ‘Pay-the-Rent’ framework that casts Australians as ‘colonisers’ and ‘occupiers’ on ‘stolen land’ – the introduction of race-based Indigenous parallel Parliaments – the racial lockouts of public national parks – and the way in which Australians feel as though they are dead last in the eyes of the government when it comes to homes, jobs, and the future – this is the division that is being questioned in this motion.

We should be able to debate this without references to toxic algae.

Australians know they live in a democracy and that democracy is a numbers game. The cherished beliefs, freedoms, laws, and norms are all a matter of majority consensus that can be undone in an instant if too many people come to this country holding different values.

So yes, they marched.