Students shun calls to stay in school as anti-Hanson protesters gather across Australia

Student protest against Pauline Hanson outside the State Library of Victoria on 13 August, 2026 in Melbourne. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Student protest against Pauline Hanson outside the State Library of Victoria on 13 August, 2026 in Melbourne. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images Students shun calls to stay in school as anti-Hanson protesters gather across Australia High schoolers join university walkouts in major cities and several smaller locations amid urge to ‘stand up against the far right’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Calls for striking students to stay in school are unlikely to deter thousands across the country preparing to take part in a major walkout in protest against Pauline Hanson. High schoolers have begun joining the coordinated university union protests taking place in every major city and several smaller locations across the country on Thursday afternoon. “Say No to Pauline Hanson” rally flyers distributed by organisers the National Union of Students include calls to “fight against racism” and “stand up against the far right”. “Pauline Hanson actually doesn’t stand for things that benefit students’ lives … [and] a lot of students are galvanised by that,” Akash Nagarajan, the union’s general secretary, said. The 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 governments is selling out your future, and you’ll inherit a weaker, poorer and less safe country,” she wrote. View image in fullscreen High school and university students opposed to the policies of Pauline Hanson and One Nation protest outside State Library Victoria in Melbourne, Thursday, 13 August, 2026. Photograph: Jay Kogler/AAP “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. Despite being urged not to skip class, Melbourne high school student Jules Arpula said there was “nothing more important” for students to do on Thursday. “We refuse to just adapt to the new ‘normal’ of Hansonism,” she said. Hanson’s track record shows she has voted against education policies such as free Tafe, increasing funding for public schools and reducing student debt, Nagarajan said. The 72-year-old senator 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.” A walkout was one of the most effective ways for students, some of whom are too young to vote, to voice their dissent, Monash university senior politics lecturer Benjamin Moffitt said. The planned rallies will aim to implore a relatively large group of Australians “flirting with the idea of voting One Nation” to question their choices, he said. Explore more on these topics Australian politics Protest Pauline Hanson Australian education One Nation news Share Reuse this content