Colin Hay condemns the use of ‘Down Under’ at anti-immigration protests.
What started as a playful critique of Australian identity has taken on a new political life. Colin Hay is pushing back after anti-immigration protesters adopted ‘Down Under,’ arguing the song’s message of Australian pride and mixed identity has been wilfully misread.
There are few things more quintessentially Australian than Men at Work’s 1981 hit ‘Down Under’. It’s a pub classic, an Olympic closer, and crowned the second most Australian song by Triple J in 2018. (Beaten only by Cold Chisel’s ‘Khe Sanh’.) However, it seems anti-migration activists have gotten their hands on it.
Colin Hay has publicly condemned The March For Australia rallies held on the 31st of August and 19th of October in 2025. The protests call for the end to mass migration, and the organisers of the rallies have been found by ABC News and The Age to have ties to Neo-Nazi and white nationalists. The irony? Hay, co-writer and frontman of Men at Work, is himself an immigrant.
Protest movements, across the spectrum rely on recognisable cultural shorthand, and few things are more recognisable than a global hit. But does the utilisation of this shorthand leave room for context, irony, or authorship? Not really.
Beneath ‘Down Under’s’ jokey tone, it is a warning to Australians about the exploitation of the country by the rich and the loss of spirit in the country. It’s not the first time a song has been misappropriated politically.
The most classic example is Ronald Reagan’s 1984 statement that he and Bruce Springsteen shared the same American Dream. The patriotic tones of ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ contrast a critique of American patriotism. The same occurs in ‘Down Under’.
Hay is not the first to be forced to make a statement rejecting the use of his music in anti-immigration rallies, he is joined by John Williamson, Cold Chisel, Icehouse and more.
In a statement across social media, Hay shared:
“Down Under, a song I co-wrote, does not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia within the fabric of our great land, our great people,”
Hay went on to say. “Down Under is ultimately a song of celebration. It’s for pluralism and inclusion, unity, not division. Go write your own song, leave mine alone.”
He signed off ,“Colin Hay (immigrant).”
