Students say NO to One Nation

"Too young to protest, we call bullshit! Too young to fight back, we call bullshit!”  

On Thursday the 13th of August, university and high school students gathered outside the UOW library to protest against senator Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party. 

The protests were part of a collective strike action organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) that saw young people walking out of classrooms to rally all across Australia.

The protest expressed growing concerns over the rise in popularity of One Nation’s party and the consequences of Hanson’s divisive political views on Australia.

“The youth of Australia won’t idly stand by as One Nation keeps gaining momentum,” the Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association’s Ethno-Cultural Representative Tidus Funaki said to the crowd.

“We won’t stand by as One Nation get seats in parliament.

“The youth of Australia are going to fight the far-right every step of the way, because their vision of society is one that oppresses anyone that doesn’t fit their racist agenda.”

One of The Tert’s own writers, Jess Hewett, was the first to speak at the rally, highlighting the importance of speaking out against the rise in One Nation’s popularity and the growth of far-right politics on social media.

“I think we have real cause for concern even if we aren’t the ones being targeted by Pauline Hanson and One Nation’s media campaign, our apathy to it can reinforce the power it has over her target audience,” she said.

She also spoke out as a survivor of sexual violence condemning Hanson’s views on domestic violence and the risks it may have to survivors.

“Seeing Pauline Hanson spit dangerous narratives about domestic violence survivors, calling domestic violence a ‘two-way street” horrifies me.”

Speaking next, Daniel McClelland, the First Nations Officer of the NUS and Treasurer of WUSA spoke on the impact of Pauline Hanson’s party on First Nations people.

“This is a country where Aboriginal people have had their land stolen, a nation where children have been ripped from their families, where the government controlled where Indigenous people could live, work and travel,” he said.

“This is the type of politics that Pauline and her cronies want. This is the old days they speak about. A past where it’s not only permissible, but it’s encouraged to be a racist.”

Daniel also spoke on the impact on university students, about how the housing crisis is not a migrant issue but rather an issue caused by the wealthy.

“Our enemy is not each other, it is the billionaires that profiteer off our labour, off our exploitation, off our struggle,” he said.

“We are struggling because our rents are through the roof, because our wages are kept low and because we’ve inherited a capitalist economy which deliberately makes education come with a price tag.

“Our enemy is not the person beside us who speaks another language, our enemy is inequality, our enemy is exploitation, our enemy is racism.”

The protest was briefly interrupted when a One Nation member became identified amongst the crowd.

The man consistently requested an opportunity to “debate” and remained present for the entire rally despite being met with boos and chants to telling him to “fuck off.”

Despite this interruption, the next speaker, Year 11 student Bear Holland, provided a voice for the high schoolers present and delivered a heartfelt speech about his reasons for attending the protest. 

“As a student observing the current political discourse, it is easy to be disheartened. Watching Pauline Hanson villainise the most vulnerable in our community should spark concern in all of us,” he said. 

“I want a future of sovereign wealth that can fund and support healthcare, education and housing for everyone. I want a future that is built on inclusion, diversity, love and hope.

“There is nothing radical about these things despite what far right wing politicians and broadcasters will lead you to believe.

“The youth of Australia does not want any part in Hanson’s divisive and hateful future.”

Bear’s speech was followed by an impromptu but passionate statement by a group of students from Nowra High School.

“She says she wants to make a better Australia… she is in no way making a better Australia, and we are the future, she should be listening to our voices,” one of the students, Jemima said.

They then went on to claim, in not-so-civil words, that Hanson may benefit from developing greater class consciousness by returning to her working class roots in the fish and chip shop she used to own. 

The final speaker, Simon Upitis, the Education Officer for WUSA and a member of Students for Palestine, wrapped up the rally by reaffirming the students’ right to be angry, emphasising One Nation’s divisive views and encouraging students to continue showing up to protests.

“I think it’s right to be fucking angry about Pauline Hanson. Yeah, we should be concerned about them… I think we should be worried about them, but we should be fucking furious about them,” he said.

“They want to normalise hatred and bigotry, they want to normalise racism, sexism, homophobia, all of that and they know exactly what they’re doing.

“Suddenly, the things that you would’ve assumed would’ve been too taboo to say like that the White Australia Policy was good, suddenly, that’s ok and that’s in the normal discourse of society, that’s how they shift politics to the right.”

Simon also talked about the downfalls of the current Labour government and said that it’s up to ordinary people to get out and make political change.

“Labour rule in the interest of capitalism and big business,” he said. 

“They have presided over a cost of living crisis and a housing crisis for us, and a situation where the rich have only gotten richer.

“It was Labour who invited the president of Israel to come and do a PR tour of Australia, the man who literally signed bombs used on Gaza.

“Don’t let this be the last thing you do when it comes to fighting the far right, coming to protests, that really matters, it’s the most important thing you can do.”

The rally was followed by a march around the duck pond, with students continuing to chant against Pauline Hanson.

I interviewed three Nowra High students about their reasons for striking and engaging with the protest.

“I hate capitalists,” one of the students said.

“I think we need to free ourselves from the oppression of her government.”

“It's not just left versus right, it's up versus down,” another added.

“It's upper class versus lower class.

“I reckon it shows that we all care that we are literally the current future generation and we matter and so does our opinions.”

“I just want to say that Pauline Hanson and all of One Nation are sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist,” a third student said.

“I think it is honestly disappointing for our country because we are our youth and we do not want that in Parliament.”

The students also commented on the admiration they had for their teachers who had supported them and fostered open political discussions.

A second protest against Hanson and One Nation is set to be held on the 17th of September.