Smells like Teen Spirit: Students Walk-Out on One Nation

by Ethan Taylor

Published August 14, 2026

Thousands of high school and university students across Australia have staged a walk-out on Thursday in protest against Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party.

Capital cities across the country were brought to a standstill as students ‘wagged class’ to show their displeasure with the "normalisation" of what they call the "fascist politics" of the Queensland Senator.

In Melbourne, high-pitched chants of "Pauline Hanson is a racist" could be heard blocks away from the meeting place at the State Library of Victoria.

Passersby were met with a sea of homemade protest posters emblazoned with captions.

This comes after a building campaign from One Nation as they continue to show strength in Victorian as the state heads to the polls in November.

Various speakers addressed the throng of Australia’s future. One said he and a group of classmates had come from Ballarat to attend the protest.

Thousands of student protestors skip school to protest Pauline Hanson’s One Nation - **PHOTO:** Ethan Taylor

A spokesperson for the event said, "What we’re watching [in One Nation] is essentially a normalisation of fascist politics. What we want is for students to commit to a long-term project."

"Just one protest isn’t going to cut it, but it’s a really good first step."

The crowd marched in a loop around the CBD after leaving the State Library at the conclusion of speeches.

The protestors followed a lone police car and were chaperoned by a small number of police officers.

There was an absence of aggression save for reports of a single stolen schoolbag.

Senator Hanson hit back at the students in a post to Facebook on Thursday, calling on schools to teach young Australians “how to think, not what to think”.

“What we’re watching [in One Nation] is essentially a normalisation of fascist politics,” says event organiser - **PHOTO:** Ethan Taylor

Hanson, who Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson said has missed 88 per cent of Senate attendance, spent the day in Parliament berating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his recent melon gaffe.

As the protests on Thursday drew to a close in Melbourne, organisers of the event thanked students for attending.

One protestor said, "It was only because of students in 1997 that we were able to drive Pauline Hanson out of politics."

‘That’s why the student organisation is so important.”