Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton have been blasted by Aussies for pandering to Chinese immigrant voters at a lunar new year event in Melbourne.
The Labor and Liberal leaders, whose parties are responsible for allowing hundreds of thousands of Chinese into Australia in recent decades, both made gushing posts on Saturday from Box Hill in Melbourne, a suburb where Australians are a small minority and China’s flag was once flown from the police station.
Both thanked the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse for organising the event, which was sponsored by Chinese immigrant-owned property developer Golden Age Group. Other sponsors include the Victorian government-owned Suburban Rail Loop, and taxpayer-funded pro-multiculturalism TV channel SBS.
Mr Albanese said on social media: “Xin nian kuai le. Gong hei fat choy! What a beautiful celebration in Box Hill in Melbourne. The contribution of the Chinese Australian community is something to celebrate every day of the year. I will never take your community, or your contribution to our nation, for granted.
“Thanks to the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse for hosting this incredible event.”
Mr Dutton said: “[My wife] Kirilly and I are in Box Hill for this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations, joining the community as they welcome the Year of the Snake.
“The Asian Business Association of Whitehorse and Golden Age always deliver incredible displays of culture and celebration, making Lunar New Year in Box Hill such a special event.
“That’s why today, we’ve announced $250,000 to support the Box Hill Lunar New Year Festival—ensuring this iconic celebration continues for the next five years.
“We’re also proud to fund a memorial sculpture honouring the service and sacrifice of Australians of Chinese descent who have served our nation.”
Mr Dutton’s pledge came after Mr Albanese promised to contribute $150,000 to the festival.
But the posts angered many Australians, who asked why uniparty politicians were constantly pandering to foreigners, and said Mr Albanese should be focusing on Australia and Australians instead.
“Bloke cares more about minority groups than the large majority of this country which are Christians,” popular libertarian political commentator Mickamious wrote on X in response to the Prime Minister.
“Cannot pass up a single opportunity to pander to a minority, and each time he does it, he divides Australians,” another said.
“Diaspora communities imposing their cultural practices upon our own. This is Australia not mini China,” wrote a third.
Mr Dutton’s post attracted even more criticism, with many asking how he could support the Chinese event in a city which had cancelled its Australia Day parade.
Conservative commentator Kobie Thatcher wrote: “It’s Australia, not China. We don’t need this here.”
“So, Victorians can’t have a Australia Day parade, But we can throw a parade for CHYNA? What the fuck is happening with our country?” asked another X user.
“Happy to go on a march for the Chinese but not Australians. Even on Australia Day all you talked about was new migrants. You are going to be a disaster,” said another.
Others expressed their anger over the demographic changes in Box Hill.
Box Hill used to be a beautiful suburb with lovely interwar housing and marvellous gardens. A proper place populated by proper Australians.
Now it’s a godawful slice of Hong Kong disfiguring the landscape with ugly skyscraper flats jam-packed full of Asiatics.
The lovely…
— Æ – Australian Elder AM (@PhallusFrosty) February 1, 2025
“Box Hill used to be a beautiful suburb with lovely interwar housing and marvellous gardens. A proper place populated by proper Australians. Now it’s a godawful slice of Hong Kong disfiguring the landscape with ugly skyscraper flats jam-packed full of Asiatics,” said one.
“The lovely Californian bungalows and quarter acre blocks have all been bulldozed and the Australian population replaced by imports. You can spend a lot of time walking around Box Hill and you won’t see a single Australian anywhere.
“Architects by and large are impossible tossers and this dump is exactly the sort of thing they get hard over.”
“Box Hill. A Chinese country within Australia. So that’s who is pushing the Box Hill to Cheltenham (a.k.a Chadstone) SRL train line at the cost of $35 billion dollars. So the Chinese can do their shopping at Chadstone. Screw Box Hill. Shithole,” wrote another.
At the time of the 2021 Census, just 15.5% of Box Hill residents said they were of Australian ancestry, compared to 39% whose background was Chinese. 23.5% of the suburb’s population was born in China, along with 5% in Malaysia, and 2.2% in Hong Kong.
Since then, about 2 million immigrants have arrived in Australia, most from India but closely followed by those from China. The massive surge occurred despite repeated polls showing a majority of Australians want immigration cut.
Header image credit: Left, Anthony Albanese. Right, Peter Dutton (Facebook).
