“Every time the French protests come on the news, it sends shock waves of hope throughout our group that we can grow and we can win,” David Ye told ABC News.
On Thursday afternoon, Australian students across several cities are expected to walk out of classrooms to protest Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party and its policies, ABC News reported. The November action follows similar student walkouts in August, which organiser Odessa Bishop-McMurray estimates attracted 15,000 participants around Australia.
Pushing Back Against the Far-Right
Odessa Bishop-McMurray, an 18-year-old student from Victoria, views the protest as a way to challenge what she perceives as the growing acceptance of far-right politics in Australia. Odessa Bishop-McMurray told ABC News she is one of the organisers of the student walkouts.
“Pauline Hanson is coming for the rights of immigrants, women and trans people … high schoolers have a responsibility to take this task upon ourselves,” she said. “We want to see racist, fascist politics completely de-legitimised in society.”
Odessa is a member of the High School Anti-Capitalists, one of the groups organising the walkouts. Students are being spurred to action by a variety of concerns, according to her, including climate change, the cost of living, insecure work, housing unaffordability, and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
A Global Tide of Youth Activism
Youth-led movements in Serbia, France, and Brazil have emerged as a potent political force, ABC News and Reuters reported. Demonstrations initially sparked by inadequate funding for French public schools escalated into weeks of violent civil unrest, subsequently triggering a broader continental wave of youth-driven protests across Europe.
By cycling across the continent and competing in ultramarathons, Serbian students brought visibility to an activist campaign that ultimately succeeded in toppling the government after its 14-year tenure. Meanwhile, in Brazil, a massive online mobilisation of young citizens played a critical role in blocking the far-right from regaining power during a fiercely contested electoral race.
As video clips showcasing demonstrations in Serbia and France spread across social media, local organisers look to harness the energy generated by these international youth campaigns. While the final attendance figures remain uncertain, event coordinators anticipate that today’s turnout will surpass the numbers seen in August.
Connecting Wider Inequalities
David Ye, a 16-year-old co-organiser of the walkouts, notes that youth activism happening abroad has served as a key motivator. David Ye told ABC News that students are drawing connections between demands for better learning conditions and wider inequalities, such as racism and sexism.
“It’s great that students are recognising the interconnectedness between all of these issues and taking up those fights themselves,” he said. “Young people are totally capable of thinking critically, participating in politics, and fighting for the future because, after all, it is our future.”
The One Nation party office has been contacted for comment, according to ABC News. Harvard-affiliated researchers Erica Chenoweth and Matthew Cebul wrote in a recent essay that Gen Z may be experiencing a global political awakening.
Data on Youth Engagement
According to figures compiled by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, youth-led political mobilization has reached substantial levels, documenting 17 major anti-government protests driven by young people in 2024 and an additional 12 throughout 2025. Furthermore, a study published recently by the Institute of Family Studies revealed that 41 per cent of young Australians surveyed had voiced opinions regarding government policies over the preceding five-year span.
| Metric | Percentage / Data Point | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Young Australians expressing views on government | 41 per cent | Institute of Family Studies |
| Surveyed youth who took part in a protest | 31 per cent | Institute of Family Studies |
| Youth who believe they have a meaningful say | 11 per cent | Institute of Family Studies |
Deakin University youth and education sociologist Eve Mayes pointed out that today’s activism draws on a rich legacy of prior youth-led movements, most notably the worldwide climate school strikes held across 2018 and 2019. According to Dr Mayes, digital platforms help cultivate hidden communities driven by shared grievances and optimism, enabling individuals with common worries to discover one another and forge links.
“Through this movement, young people are learning to organise themselves and that is essential,” Hippolyte Barbry told ABC News.
