Thousands of students from schools and universities have rallied around the country to protest the policies of One Nation and its leader Pauline Hanson.
At Sydney’s Town Hall several hundred attended a rally to hear from speakers such as Greens senator Jenny Leong and University of Sydney education officer Yasmine Johnstone.
Holding up homemade banners including “Pooline Hanson“ and a piñata of the senator, protesters chanted “This is what democracy looks like“ and “put the racist in the bin”.
Leong told the crowd: “We do not need more of One Nation in this country because we know around this world the rise of the far right is a terrifying reality.
“If you scratch the surface of someone like Pauline Hanson, what you see is the failure of the mainstream political parties.
“We see people turn to blame immigrants and refugees for the problem when we know that the real problem is the billionaires.”
Appealing to the crowd, she added: “Promise me that this is not your last rally.”
Taking to the podium, Johnstone said: “We’ve got dozens of high schools and universities represented here today, from Sydney, from the Blue Mountains, from Newcastle, from the Central Coast. And we will have even more next time.”
The protests came as polls continue to show the growing influence of Hanson and One Nation, with the once marginal right-wing party now the most favoured in Australia.
Hanson’s hardline views on immigration and multiculturalism in Australia, have attracted criticism in some quarters while bolstering her support in others.
It’s a manifestation of the hate and anger young people have towards Pauline Hanson.
“Pauline Hanson’s rise is a huge threat to democracy, a huge threat to workers living standards, to anybody who isn’t straight and white,” said Australian National University Marxist economist Rick Kuhn, who attended the rally.
“The message is, that there are lots and lots of people who are opposed to Hanson and are prepared to mobilise against her.”
Protesters from the University of Technology Sydney and University of Sydney marched together from Broadway to join the main rally, which marched along George Street and circled the Queen Victoria Building before returning to Town Hall.
“>It was a part of a larger, nationwide ‘Students Say No to Hanson’ campaign organised by the National Union of Students and Socialist Alternative groups, and was one of many in major cities and regions around the country.
In response to the protest, Hanson said: “If you want to protest something, protest why your parents wages are going backwards.”
One Nation’s Treasury spokesperson Barnaby Joyce added: “They (students) have been told to hate this country.”
Many senior high school students will be of voting age by the next NSW state election, due in March 2027.
“[The protest is] a manifestation of the hate and anger young people have towards Pauline Hanson,” said University of NSW ethnocultural officer Avasa Bajracharya.
Protester Nolene from the Central Coast, whose grandson was also present, said: “[It’s] an amazing initiative by the students. [I] always support protests, they’re the people that this is going to affect the most.”
Main picture by Tom Snow.
