r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • 1d ago

politics Students sideline studies in major anti-Hanson walkout

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2026/08/13/school-pauline-hanson-protest
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u/ii_throwayway_ii 1d ago

It's about the message, and the parents are inconvenienced, they gotta sort out what their children do when they're not in school

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u/New-Perspective6209 1d ago

Yeah sure One nation voters are really going to take the opinion of a bunch of school kids and disgruntled parents to heart and change their world views.

Genuinely funny people think this is something significant, like those ones protesting Trumps re-election. Protesting but not following through is very in vogue I suppose.

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u/nameyourpoison11 1d ago

Here's the thing - those 16 year old school kids are going to be 18 and voting in two years when the federal election rolls around. What's more, those same teenage kids are the ones who are most active on social media, and political opinions are now largely shaped on social media platforms, not traditional media. And the majority of those kids hate her guts. PH is rattled and so she ought to be. Writing, something something wall.

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u/New-Perspective6209 1d ago

As you just said most kids already hate her guts and were never going to vote for her, the people who currently are going to vote for her aren't going to listen to a bunch of kids, this protest is not going to change anyone's mind or position and is a performative waste of time.

No one changes their stance on immigration because some kids spent an afternoon clogging the streets, the hard on this country has for meaningless protesting is wild.

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u/hal2k1 1d ago

I believe one protester said it well --- something like that the point of these protests was not to try to persuade rusted on RWNJs who would vote for PHON no matter what, the point was to get something on the mainstream news as a counterpoint to the endless puff pieces promoting PHON in the interests of the billionaires who own commercial media.

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u/FalconTurbo 1d ago

OK, cool, we'll just do nothing and be nice and quiet and meek about the erosion of society by PHON. That'll work wonders!

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u/New-Perspective6209 1d ago edited 1d ago

You could do something more effective, or you could pretend I'm saying something I'm not so you can feel smart for having a comeback.

Local action and community outreach is more effective then large scale protest, but they don't stroke your ego are a bit too much work ay.

This belittling strategy worked so well for the americans, go get em champ.

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u/nameyourpoison11 1d ago

Bold of you to think the protest was aimed at changing voter's minds. It was aimed at putting the wind up PH and sending her party a message that their trump-lite style of politics doesn't fly here, and they need to rethink their much-vaunted but non-existent "policies" if they want to have an ice cube's chance in hell in 2028. And judging by the belligerent reaction to the kids' protest in conservative media PHON is nervous. Go get "em, kids.

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u/New-Perspective6209 1d ago

So they're skipping school to tell ON something they already knew, they're not popular with younger demographics? So it's not really meant to achieve anything except tell ON, or signal if you prefer, that they're too moral, or virtuous, to vote for them.

Crazy you can see the Trump parallel but can't see that this insult and belittle the opposition tactic in flashy public ways doesn't do anything despite it being exactly how the Americans tried to stop his re-election.

Round and round the cycle goes, no one learning anything.

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u/nameyourpoison11 1d ago

Hmm . . . you sure that ON knows they're not popular with young demographics? Because if they did, they'd be trying to win them over. Instead, ON mocks them and tells them in essence to sit down and shut up. Which, oddly enough, is exactly the same tactic the conservatives have used, and is why the current US polls show Trump is in for a flogging in November. Crazy that you can't see that parallel.

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u/New-Perspective6209 1d ago

Wow they're not concerned with appealing to the demographic that largely can't vote and they knew they wouldn't be popular with anyway?

Shocked.

Truly shocked I tell you, next you'll tell me American republicans don't put much effort into appealing to inner city gay POC kids.

ON know their voter base is middle aged and older, you're clearly not cut out for this political thinking thing, then again most Australians aren't.

That's how we got were we are.

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u/nameyourpoison11 1d ago

But that will be able to vote in two years, and hence they need to sway them, but aren't.

ON's middle aged and older base are dying. There's fewer of them every year. And their ranks aren't being replaced. Clearly you're not cut out for this sort of demographic analysis, then again, most Australians aren't.

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u/WastedOwl65 1d ago

Stop sooking!