About 70 people attended a forum on September 27 in Melbourne on Making Melbourne a Hanson free zone. The forum was hosted by the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
Guardian Australia columnist Jeff Sparrow spoke at the forum. He said: "Billions of dollars have been spent on fighting Islam by the Government so recent polls on racism are no surprise. There is a real danger that Hanson could become the new normal, a right wing version of the Greens."
Omar Merhi from the Electrical Trade Union said that the recent ETU National Conference passed a motion on fighting racism and hopes other unions will do the same. Mehri said it was a real concern that more than five hundred thousand people had voted for One Nation at the last election.
Inaz Janif, a teacher and member of Casey against Racism said: "Racism has gone beyond words to physical attacks. I have seen it with my own eyes. The Casey Council has a problem with Islamophobia. Before Muslims, other migrants and First Nations people had to face racism. I hope we are the last to face racism. We need to make a world where no once is abused."
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