Thousands attend March for Australia protest as anti-migrant tensions spread around world

The group posted on social media the rallies aimed to do "what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration".

Protester in Sydney, Glenn Allchin said he wanted a "slowdown" in immigration.

Mr Allchin told reporters: "It’s about our country bursting at the seams and our government bringing more and more people in,

"Our kids struggling to get homes, our hospitals, we have to wait seven hours, our roads, the lack of roads."

The centre-left Government condemned the rallies saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis.

Murray Watt, a senior minister in the Labor administration, told local media: "We absolutely condemn the March for Australia rally that's going on today. It is not about increasing social harmony."

Mr Watt continued: "We don't support rallies like this that are about spreading hate and that are about dividing our community" asserting they were "organised and promoted" by neo-Nazi groups.

A large rally was held in central Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, according to aerial footage from the ABC, which reported that riot officers used pepper spray on demonstrators.

Victoria Police did not confirm the report but said it would provide details on the protest later on Sunday.

Bob Katter, the leader of a small populist party, attended a rally in Queensland, a party spokesperson said, three days after the veteran lawmaker threatened a reporter for mentioning Katter's Lebanese heritage at a press conference when the topic of his attendance at a March for Australia event was being discussed.

Dr Anne Aly, the minister for multicultural affairs, said: "We stand with all Australians, no matter where they were born, against those who seek to divide us and who seek to intimidate migrant communities.

"We will not be intimidated. This brand of far-right activism grounded in racism and ethnocentrism has no place in modern Australia."

In Sydney, a counter-rally by the Refugee Action Coalition, a community activist organisation, took place.

"Our event shows the depth of disgust and anger about the far-right agenda of March For Australia," a coalition spokesperson said in a statement. Organisers said hundreds attended that event.

Police said hundreds of officers were deployed across Sydney in an operation that ended "with no significant incidents".

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, said: "There is no place in our country for people who seek to divide and undermine our social cohesion. We stand with modern Australia against these rallies, nothing could be less Australian."

Federal opposition leader Sussan Ley added: "There is no place for violence, racism or intimidation. Whether incited from afar or stirred up here, we cannot let hatred and fear tear at our social cohesion.

"It (Australia) belongs to all of us, and what unites us will always be stronger than what seeks to divide us."

National Socialist Network member Jack Eltis told reporters: "Yeah, we're racist. We're proud of who we are as white men. We built this nation.

"Our ancestors built this land for us, and we're proud of that. We're proud of our racial identity."

When Mr Eltis was directly asked if the group were 'neo-Nazis' he replied "yes."

March for Australia organisers have previously denied connection to white supremacists and neo Nazis.

Speaking about the current situation in Australia, commentator Will Kingston told GB News: "You have people on the right who are proud of their country, proud of its values in much the same way that people on the right in the UK are.

"You come up against the left who fundamentally despise the countries, despise their values, despise their historical narratives, unless there's a football match on."