Sunday’s anti-immigration marches, held in cities from Sydney to Perth, were large, noisy, and deeply revealing. Thousands of Australians took to the streets chanting slogans and waving placards about “mass migration”.

For many, the tempting reaction is to dismiss the demonstrators as racists. Some certainly were, and shadow federal attorney-general Julian Leeser was right to warn that those who attended should “be careful of the company they keep”. But we cannot and should not write off everyone who marched. Many protesters were drawn out of their homes because they genuinely believe immigration has reached record-breaking, unsustainable levels.

Protesters during the March for Australia anti-immigration rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on Sunday.Credit: AAP

And here lies the real problem: most of them are misinformed. Australia’s immigration crisis isn’t about numbers – it’s about misinformation.

Australians took to the streets because they were told to be afraid of numbers that don’t exist. A press release from the Institute of Public Affairs issued two weeks before the rallies claimed 457,560 net migrants had arrived in the 2024-25 financial year alone.

But that number........

© The Sydney Morning Herald