Racists must go to Australia – but should leave the keys to their equipment and property behind, said EFF leader Julius Malema during a Human Rights Day rally in Mpumalanga on Wednesday.

"A racist country like Australia says…'EFF wants to kill white farmers – they must come to Australia'," explained Malema to a roaring and red-clad crowd at the Mpumalanga Stadium.

"If they want to go, they must go."

However, he added: "They must leave the keys of the tractors because we want to work the land; they must leave the keys of the houses, because we want to live in those houses."

"They must leave everything that they did not come with to South Africa."

He said those who emigrated must "leave quietly" because those who stayed "are too busy".

"Don’t make a noise because you will irritate us."

He believed that those who went to Australia, would be poor there. "They are rich here because they are exploiting black people."

As such, those who left, would eventually return "with the tail between their legs" and at that point "we will hire them because we will be the owners of their farms", the party leader said.

Malema said that some people and institutions misunderstood EFF members.

"Today we say: let’s talk about how are we going to expropriate land without compensation.

"We don’t know violence; we know negotiation."

Ultimately, the policy needed to be implemented because: "our land is our dignity".

Earlier this month, Australian Minister of Home Affairs Peter Dutton said that visas for white South African farmers should be considered following moves in Parliament to have land expropriation without compensation implemented.

He said he would consider requesting his department to fast-track visas for South Africans to Australia on humanitarian or other visa programmes.His comments led to a diplomatic spat between the two countries, and last Thursday International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu issued a diplomatic demarche – or course of action – to the Australian High Commissioner in South Africa, Adam McCarthy, to demand a retraction of the comments by Dutton.

Also read: SA would need to deteriorate 'markedly' for white farmers to get refugee status – Australian senator

Australian Liberal Democratic Party senator David Leyonhjelm, who came out in support of Dutton's comments, recently told News24 that the country took in between 14 000 and 20 000 refugees each year under the humanitarian visa category.

"Things would need to deteriorate pretty markedly in South Africa for white farmers to be granted refugee status. But if that happened, I'd certainly support accepting them under this visa category," he said."However, obviously I would much prefer the South African government protected the lives and property of all South Africans. As Zimbabwe has clearly shown, there are no gains for anyone from forcing white farmers from their land."