How a conspiracy theory embraced by Trump became part of mainstream Australian politics

Theory Briefing

• The "great replacement" theory, long confined to far-right circles, has recently entered mainstream Australian political language alongside the term "remigration".
• Trump's embrace of the theory gave it a high-profile platform, accelerating its spread into conventional political discourse beyond the US.
• The concept of "invasion" is older in Australian politics, but replacement theory and remigration are newer additions that signal a shift in framing.
• The mainstreaming of the theory raises questions about whether political legitimacy normalises ideas once treated as dangerous conspiracy thinking.