Something About Australia Feels Off Right Now

Something about Australia feels off right now, and it is becoming impossible to ignore.

I recently read an article by Luke McNamara in The Guardian Australia describing police conduct at a Sydney rally as “disturbing” and “disappointing”. As I read it, I felt a deep sense of unease. Not surprise. Unease.

I did not attend this year’s Invasion Day or Survival Day rallies. Not because I did not care, but because I no longer feel safe around them. That is not a small thing. Over a number of years, that feeling of safety has slowly disappeared, and each January it affects my mental health more and more.

Racism has always existed in this country. I have seen my fair share of it. But what we are seeing now feels different. We are heading into dangerous territory. In a nation that often prides itself on being liberal and progressive in its approach to social outcomes, we are watching police violently engage with protesters. We are seeing people punched. We are seeing people removed while praying. We are seeing fear replace dialogue.

As an Aboriginal Australian, this is incredibly difficult to write. The struggle for justice, respect, and to simply be heard is still very real for us. It often feels like a never ending fight. And yet, I also know that this country has a history of doing better.

Australia has been shaped by protest. We were one of the first countries to implement women’s voting rights. We fought for the eight hour workday. We saw walk offs and resistance against fascism. We saw Aboriginal rights movements through the 1960s and beyond, and those movements continue today. We have protested for women’s safety, for environmental protection, and for the survival of our country. This is part of who we are.

That is why what we are seeing now is so confronting.

It feels as though something fundamental is being suppressed. The right to dissent. The right to gather. The right to speak without fear of violence. We are not talking about this enough, and that silence is dangerous.

If you feel scared, confused, or unsettled, you are not imagining it. With everything happening globally and here at home, those feelings make sense. I do not even have the vocabulary to fully describe how this lands for me. All I know is that I feel unsafe.

And that is not how anyone should feel in this country.

This is not the Australia many of us believe in. This is not the Australia built on protest, courage, and the pursuit of better outcomes for people. We can acknowledge our history of progress while also naming when we are moving in the wrong direction.

Because if we stop holding space for dissent, if fear replaces safety, then we lose something far more important than an argument. We lose trust. We lose belonging. And for people who already live on the margins, the cost is even higher.