Australian students shun calls to stay in school as anti-Hanson protests gather across country

High schoolers join university walkouts in major cities and several smaller locations amid urge to fight against racism

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They came yelling chants that “racists” weren’t “welcome here”, with signs deriding Pauline Hanson’s former fish and chip shop and the One Nation leader herself.

On Thursday, thousands of students across the country put down the textbooks to walk through streets in protest against the rise of Pauline Hanson, joining the protests organised by the National Union of Students.

When Kaylee, who is in Year 8 and uses they/them pronouns, asked for the day off school, their mum requested they lay out their reasoning. They presented her with a four-page essay.

They aren’t a political family; their mum doesn’t regularly read the news, but Kaylee said “I persuaded her” to come along.

“People of a different race shouldn’t lose their rights,” Kaylee said. “And queer people have already had a lot of issues with fighting for their rights, and if that gets taken away too, that’s not OK.”

Asked why they thought Hanson should not be in charge, Kaylee simply said: “I just don’t think she should be able to make those kinds of choices”.

The themes from the speakers were clear – racism is not welcome here, and Hanson does not represent Australia’s youth.

Former Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam told the crowd she was impressed by the turnout, saying, “It gives me hope that we can stop the rise of One Nation . Everything is on the line right now.”

At one point, right-wing self-proclaimed journalist Avi Yemini turned up, surrounded by large men wearing all black and another man in a One Nation T-shirt. He tried to make his way into the crowd before being turned around by marshals.

As Yemini started filming on the sidelines, a group of students ran into the background to chant “fuck Pauline Hanson”.

A few metres away, a parent, Chris, said he can remember walking out of school to strike against Hanson almost 30 years ago, and now he stood with his 13-year-old daughter, Charlie.

“I think that everyone should have the same rights and everyone should be able to be treated the same way,” Charlie said.

Chris said he hadn’t mentioned to his daughter the protests he attended, but as soon as she asked if she could go to this one, he said yes.

“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It really is. I’m sure there’s a huge range of different political views represented here, but … the common thing amongst all these amazing young people is they believe in kindness.

“They believe in decency, they believe in everyone getting a fair go regardless of who they are, and they want people to live in peace no matter who they are.

“Anyone who wants to attack that, I think, is maybe a little bit monstrous.”

In Sydney, the energetic crowd were joined by the Greens member for Newtown, Jenny Leong, who spoke passionately.

“Many decades ago, the first thing that took me out on the streets of Sydney as a teenager was Pauline Hanson and her racist agenda,” Leong said. “As one of the signs out here says, you should not still have to be protesting against this shit.

“We know that we do not need One Nation or Pauline Hanson in this country. Not just for the racism, not just for the division, not just for the bigotry, and not just for the hatred that she spouts from her mouth every single day to advance her own self-interest and personal power.”

Asked why he was there, one student, Marcus, 21, mentioned another name that had popped up in speeches and on signs across the protests – Gina Rinehart.

“I think she’s bought out by Gina Rinehart, she’s bought out by coal industries,” he said.

In Sydney One Nation supporters were marched away. In Brisbane, one man yelled “Pauline Hanson will save Australia” as he was moved along by police.

Hanson’s One Nation primary vote has ballooned in the last 12 months and now sits at 26%, according to the latest Roy Morgan poll.

Responding on social media, Hanson said students should instead be protesting against the cost-of-living crisis and stagnant national wage growth.

“The Labor-Greens government is selling out your future, and you’ll inherit a weaker, poorer and less safe country,” she wrote.

“Whether you know it or not, One Nation and I are fighting for you.”

Further calls for students not to sideline their studies on Thursday came from politicians including the federal education minister, Jason Clare, and the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll.

“If people want to protest on the weekend, then fill your boots, but I want you at school when school is on, learning,” Clare told reporters on Wednesday.

Hanson’s track record shows she has voted against education policies such as free Tafe, increasing funding for public schools and reducing student debt, Akash Nagarajan, the union’s general secretary, said.

Hanson used her National Press Club address in June to call for a “monocultural” Australia, and appeared on a podcast hosted by British far-right activist Tommy Robinson during a trip to the UK last month.

The Victorian One Nation MP Rickie-Lee Tyrrell said the suggestion her party was racist was “false” and accused the socialist party of misleading students.

“These people are telling these children false information, we are not racist,” she told reporters at state parliament on Thursday morning.

“If you have a look at our followers, our members, our candidates, there is a diverse range of people.”