The March for Australia rally, to be held on Sunday, August 31, is a new national movement organised by an unknown group.
Demonstrations are planned in most major cities across the country, with auxiliary events being organised in regional Victoria.
Its official website is calling for participants to “stand for the people, culture and nation that built Australia — and our right to determine its future”.
A co-organiser of Echuca’s march, Colin Hosking, said recent news of a protester burning the Australian flag at a demonstration in Melbourne was a tipping point for him.
“I don’t like the division that’s happening in Australia,” he said.
“This march is not about isolating or vilifying a sector of the community, it’s about bringing the community together, which is what we need to do.”
Broadly, Mr Hosking said the protest opposed rising house prices, cost-of-living pressure, attacks on farmers’ rights, and what he called a “denigration” of Australian values.
“Tolerance and apathy are the enemies of democracy,” he said.
“If you just tolerate things that are going along, and you’re apathetic about it, things will just keep going the way people are pushing.”
Mr Hosking said he was concerned about the pressure immigration may put on infrastructure.
Nationwide, the movement has drawn both criticism and support, with concerns the march has far-right connotations.
In a statement, organisers said they were not affiliated with the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network after it allegedly tried to claim responsibility for the rally.
Mr Hosking said everyone was welcome to join the march, which will start at the Echuca Information Centre and cross the old bridge to the Kerrabee Soundshell.
17°C