Loud cries of “Racist, sexist, anti-queer, Hanson is not welcome here!” resounded through the streets as more than 1,000 people marched against One Nation in Brisbane last weekend.
It was the first protest in Brisbane against Pauline Hanson since her recent rise in the polls. It was called in response to a transphobic rally supported by One Nation, at which Hanson was scheduled to speak—although she was replaced by her Senate colleague Malcolm Roberts. It was later reported that Hanson had travelled to the UK to schmooze with prominent fascist Tommy Robinson.
The protest was dominated by young people. High schoolers took to the streets alongside young workers. People came out of shops along the way to wave and show their support for the protest, some joining in. Many trans flags were waved throughout the crowd. So too were Palestinian flags and banners of the socialist left. This was not just a protest for trans rights; it was a protest against the inhumanity of the right and against all kinds of bigotry.
The police stopped us from getting close to the far-right demonstration, which attracted maybe 100 people.
The protest was called by the Campaign against Racism and Fascism Brisbane and Queer Solidarity Magandjin (an Indigenous name for the Brisbane area). It was the biggest anti-fascist rally in Brisbane for years, and possibly the largest demonstration for trans rights ever to be held in Brisbane.
Queensland Socialists Secretary Rebecca Barrigos, addressing the demonstration, said:
“They’ve got 70,000 people who say they want to march for reaction. We need to build a force many sizes larger than that 70,000 people that can funnel all of our power, our collective power as workers, students, and the oppressed, into a fightback against the whole system. We gotta smash capitalism—no one’s coming to save us.”
The protest was vibrant and militant, and a wonderful step in the fight against One Nation.
