A few weeks ago I watched as protesters braved the rain to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a March for Humanity, calling for aid to Gaza. Among the Palestinian flags, one image stood out: the Indigenous flag, symbolising a shared history of dispossession.

The March for Humanity across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, organised by the Palestine Action Group. Credit: Janie Barrett

This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia will next month recognise a Palestinian state at the UN. These developments remind us that identity cannot be separated from politics. At a time when democracies elsewhere are fracturing under the weight of polarisation, Australia’s institutional resilience should embolden us to embrace our differences more openly in political discourse – not frighten us.

As an Australian studying in the US during both of Trump’s presidential victories I saw first hand how identities can be politicised to fracture a society. After the October 7 Hamas attacks I witnessed, as a graduate student, how Harvard students retreated into ideological silos, avoiding dialogue with those whose identities they perceived to be at odds with their own.

Australia feels different – partly because of how our political system is structured. Identity weighs less heavily on our social conscience, but perhaps that’s why it’s so often ignored.

Identity politics refers to the idea that our race,........

© Brisbane Times