Tension over immigration and the integration of Muslims has come to the fore in Australia this weekend as rival groups demonstrated.

The most heated exchanges came on Saturday as nationalists held a rally in Melbourne.

The group Reclaim Australia, which organised protests in around a dozen cities, argues the country’s way of life is under threat and that Muslim migrants should integrate better. It denies being racist.

The United Patriots Front, also present in Melbourne, opposes what it calls “left wing treason and the spread of Islamism”.

They were confronted by the Coalition against Racism and Fascism which describes Reclaim Australia as a “far-right fascist group”, the counter-demonstrators denouncing “Islamophobia”.

Clashes followed as police used pepper spray to keep the rival demonstrators apart. At least four people were arrested.

One arrest was reported at a similar rally in Adelaide. On Sunday five people were held in Sydney.

Fears of Australian Muslims becomin