Published: 05:18 BST, 5 August 2026 | Updated: 06:26 BST, 5 August 2026
A radical anti-capitalist student group is calling on high school students across Australia to walk out of class next week in protest against Pauline Hanson and One Nation, accusing the party of promoting 'racist' and 'anti-worker' politics.
The nationwide protest, set for August 13, is being organised by High School Anticapitalists and has the backing of student groups, including the University of Sydney Students' Representative Council.
In online promotional material, the group said students would leave classrooms to demonstrate against what it describes as the rising influence of Hanson and her party ahead of state elections.
'High school students will be walking out of class in protest of Pauline Hanson and One Nation on the 13th of August,' organisers said.
'Hand in hand with the billionaires and the ruling elites, One Nation has a vision for a more authoritarian, hate-filled society for ordinary people, while creating an opulent paradise for the billionaires, landlords and ruling elites.'
The group claims One Nation's recent surge in popularity has been driven by mainstream political parties, which have contributed to normalising the policies it opposes.
'One Nation is now polling at around 30 [per cent], and is rapidly cohering a large following of bigots and sickos,' High School Anticapitalists said on social media.
'While the major parties are accommodating for Hanson, adopting her policies, and legitimising anti-abortion and anti-migrant rhetoric, we need an alternative that fights and organises against the far-right.'
The nationwide protest is being organised by a group called the High School Anticapitalists
Pauline Hanson (pictured) was met with protestors during a fundraising event in Melbourne
They accuse Hanson of shifting Australia's political debate to the right and accuse Labor, the Coalition and the Greens of failing to provide a genuine alternative.
'The Liberals' Australian Values Migration Plan, announced by its leader Angus Taylor, was virtually indistinguishable from that of One Nation,' they said.
The group also attacked Labor's refugee and national security policies, alleging the party has 'jumped on the train of Islamophobia' and kept up the 'dehumanising treatment of refugees' through offshore detention centres.
The group also targets the Greens, arguing the party ultimately supports capitalism rather than pushing for deeper political change.