An alleged racist sticker showing a man defecating on a street with a message, “Is this your culture? We don’t like it” in Australia has kicked up a row with a lawmaker condemning the act.
The sticker targeting Indians were put up in Cessnock, a town about 150 km from Sydney, news agency PTI reported. This prompted a strong reaction from lawmaker Dan Repacholi saying such material did not represent the local community and would not go unchallenged.
Repacholi, a member of the House of Representatives for the Hunter electorate in New South Wales, said that the stickers were “disgusting” and urged people to report their locations so they could be removed.
“Racism isn’t welcome in Cessnock. It isn’t welcome in the Hunter. And it won’t go unchallenged,” Repacholi said in a post on Facebook, as he shared an image of the racist sticker.
The image also claimed that 32 per cent of Australia’s population was foreign-born, asserted that India was “at the top of that list” and called for “REMIGRATION NOW!”
“Enough of this,” Repacholi said in his post, adding that those spreading such material did not represent the community.
“We’re better and stronger than the hate and division these people are trying to spread. If you’ve seen one, let me know where it was located so it can be reported and removed. Don’t give these cowards any more publicity than they deserve,” he said.
Repacholi was elected to the House of Representatives for Hunter in 2022 and re-elected in 2025. He belongs to the ruling Australian Labor Party, which currently governs both the federal and NSW state government.
New South Wales (NSW) is Australia’s most populous state and is home to Sydney, the country’s largest city and a major financial, business and education hub.
The Indian community in NSW and South Australia together accounts for about 38 per cent of the Indian diaspora in Australia, numbering roughly 175,000, according to the Consulate General of India in Sydney.
