High school and university students across major cities rally against One Nation’s rising influence, citing racism, sexism and attacks on multiculturalism, as the far-right party surges in the polls.
Thousands of Australian high school and university students abandoned classrooms on Thursday to take part in coordinated protests against Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party, marking one of the largest student mobilisations against the far-right politician in decades.
Rallies under the banner “Students Say No to Hanson,” organised by the National Union of Students (NUS), took place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Wollongong and Newcastle. Protesters carried banners, placards and, in some locations, effigies of Hanson, chanting slogans including “Pauline Hanson go to hell” and “Students united will never be defeated.”
Students Protest One Nation’s Rise:
The walkouts were driven by alarm over One Nation’s sharp rise in recent polling. A Roy Morgan survey placed the party’s primary vote near 24-26 percent, putting it competitive with the major parties. Students and organisers pointed to Hanson’s recent National Press Club address in which she advocated a “monocultural” Australia, her opposition to increased public school funding and free TAFE, and a broader platform they describe as racist, sexist, homophobic and anti-worker.
“We’re walking out of high schools and universities across the country to protest Hanson’s far-right, sexist, racist, anti-worker politics,” said Jules Arpula, a Melbourne high school student and organiser. “We’re appalled by her meteoric rise, her normalisation by the mainstream, and we feel a responsibility as students to protest like the students did in 1998. She wants to deport thousands of our classmates, and we refuse to sit back and watch Australia turn into Trump’s America.”
Yasmine Johnson, NUS education officer, said students see One Nation’s agenda as threatening a “nastier, more vicious and oppressive future” that is more racist, sexist and homophobic. The protests also referenced Hanson’s voting record against education policies that would benefit students and her recent appearance on a podcast hosted by British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Hanson and her allies pushed back strongly. The One Nation leader accused students of “hating this country” and blamed left-wing teachers for ideological indoctrination.
Australian Students Rally Against Pauline Hanson:
“Schools should teach young Australians how to think, not what to think,” Hanson said. “If you want to protest something, protest why your parents’ wages are going backwards and the cost of everything is going up.”
Barnaby Joyce, a One Nation MP, claimed “socialist teachers” were using students as political props. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare urged students to remain in class, saying protests should be held on weekends rather than during school hours. Liberal senator James Paterson similarly insisted primary and secondary students “should be in school” learning rather than protesting.
Police in Sydney and Brisbane moved One Nation supporters away from the main student gatherings to prevent confrontations. The demonstrations remained largely peaceful, though they featured robust and sometimes crude chants directed at Hanson.
The action deliberately echoes a 1998 wave of student walkouts against Hanson’s first political rise, when thousands of schoolchildren protested her anti-immigration and anti-Aboriginal positions. Organisers framed Thursday’s events as a new generation refusing to normalise what they view as far-right politics gaining mainstream traction.
One Nation’s ascent has unsettled both major parties. Labor leaders have warned of the party’s growing support, while Hanson continues to campaign on issues of immigration, cultural cohesion and cost-of-living pressures that resonate with a significant minority of voters.
For the students who left class, the message was clear: they will not wait for the next election cycle to voice opposition. Whether the walkouts translate into sustained political pressure or remain a one-day expression of youth discontent remains to be seen.