Thousands of students joined protests across the country opposing the racism and bigotry of Pauline Hanson and One Nation on August 13.
The protests were called by the National Union of Students and buoyed by a big turnout of high school students, who skipped school classes to attend the rally.
The impressive turnout reflects the anger among many young people that Hanson’s far-right politics are getting a hearing in the corporate media, and in turn being reflected in high polling figures across the country.
While One Nation has been consistently polling at 25–30%, its support among “Gen Z”, 14–29-year-olds, is about 10%.
The rally in Gadigal Country/Sydney was electric, with big groups of students arriving with homemade placards, often still wearing their school uniforms.
University students rallied on campuses across the city before converging on Sydney Town Hall. Students from the University of Sydney briefly took over Redfern Station with chants of “Whose station? Our station!”, before catching the train across to Town Hall.
While many students travelled from nearby inner-city high schools, others travelled from as far as the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and even regional New South Wales to join the rally.
About 2000 students and supporters filled Town Hall Square, where they heard speeches from student activists and NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong.
References to Hanson, Barnaby Joyce and billionaire Gina Rinehart were met with boos, while calls against racism, transphobia and misogyny were loudly cheered. One student commented that it “felt like a music festival” because of the outpouring of energy and enthusiasm from youth.
While anti-racism and opposition to Hanson’s “monoculture” was a key theme, many young people also held signs supporting LGBTIQ rights.
Protesters then marched around the block before returning to Town Hall Square for a final rally.
About 1000 high school students from dozens of schools joined the rally in Boorloo/Perth, reports Blair Vidak.
The crowd was lively, with many students bringing creative and humorous homemade placards. They chanted “Unite to fight the right” and “Racists not welcome here” as they marched.
Markela Panegyres reports that about 1000 students, including many high school students, rallied in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide as part of the student-led national day of action against racism and Hanson.
Many students held placards in support of migrant and LGBTIQ rights and First Nations communities. Aboriginal flags and Palestinian flags were also prominent. The passionate crowd of mostly young people made it clear they reject Hanson’s racism and bigotry.
Jordan Shukri AK Armaou-Massoud reports that thousands of students, mostly high school students, attended the rally in Naarm/Melbourne on August 13.
Amongst placards and chants rejecting racism and the politics of Hanson and One Nation, there were also prominent displays of pro-LGBTIQ, housing justice and disability justice placards, as well as First Nations and Palestinian flags.
The rally in Muloobinba/Newcastle, which was held in the evening, drew hundreds of high school students who wanted to express their anger at Hanson’s racism, homophobia and transphobia, reports Steve O’Brien.
One high school student told Green Left that Hanson is “basically a female, Australian version of Donald Trump ... who basically everyone agrees is an idiot”.
“We want a good future, and with Pauline Hanson that’s never going to happen.”
Another high school student said they joined the rally because “every single one of my friends who are queer or Aboriginal deserve to have rights”.
A student from the University of Newcastle said they joined the rally because Hanson “represents the absolute worst of Australia”. “She tries to sell a lie that immigrants are the problem, when it is actually the rich ... she’s trying to pit communities against each other.”
[More photos published here. Another rally has been called for September 17 — check Green Left’s events page for more details.]