By Melanie Sjoberg
ADELAIDE — The largest demonstrations against Pauline Hanson's racist agenda occurred here on June 12 as 3000-4000 people protested outside her One Nation party meeting in Findon and 10,000 attended a rally and march in the city. Only 600 people turned up to hear Hanson's scapegoating politics.
The rally in the western suburb of Findon chanted and sang for more than four hours. It was organised by a coalition of social justice and environmental activists around the theme "Extinguish racism, reject Hanson and Howard".
Protesters gathered at the Findon shopping centre at 6pm and marched to the venue, spilling out to block the road. Spirits were high as chants highlighting Hanson and Howard's racism were taken up.
"Hanson is a puppet; Howard pulls the strings" and "Asians are welcome; racists are not" were popular chants which continued well into the night. Another, "Justice and equality, not racism and bigotry; black and white in unity, Hanson doesn't speak for me!", also received strong support.
The efforts of the rally coordinators to keep the protest non-violent were hampered by the police. A separate corridor for Hanson supporters was blocked off by police, who directed them to pass through the rally.
At one point, a large contingent of National Action (a neo-fascist group with a history of violence) members pushed and kicked their way through the centre of the rally. Police stood by, refusing to take any action, and later stopped organisers from setting up a PA system, making it difficult for speakers to address the large crowd.
However, using a megaphone, a Ngarrindjeri woman called for action against the Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) bridge, and other speakers described the significant role of migrant workers in Australia's more recent history and the need for unity between students and workers to fight racism.
Tim Gibuma from the Centre for Aboriginal Studies and Music called on protesters to "keep the pressure on Hanson and Howard and maintain the fight against racism".
The city rally, organised by the Celebrating Diversity Coalition, attracted more than 10,000 to the steps of Parliament House. The three parliamentary parties had prepared a joint statement on reconciliation and Aboriginal disadvantage, which was read out.
A candlelight vigil proceeded to Town Hall, where speakers from Tandanya (Aboriginal Cultural Institute), Multicultural Communities Council and Brotherhood of St Lawrence took up the theme of cultural diversity. Jen Linden from the Trade Union Choir drew attention to the Kumarangk women's demands.
Establishment media reports of the Findon protest failed to reflect the true nature and atmosphere of the night. They have campaigned aggressively to counterpose the two protest actions, stridently criticising the Findon action for being "violent".
Extinguish Racism organiser Sam King told Green Left Weekly that the Findon rally was an enormous success because "it was attended by a large cross-section of the community, including Aboriginal and Asian youth, students, trade unionists and families of all ages who were there to express their views peacefully".
"The media have overemphasised a couple of violent incidents without providing the facts", King said. "It is a pity that the media focused on the scuffles with National Action — which lasted all of a few minutes — instead of reporting on the largely peaceful rally, which was, of course, less sensational."
King said that a woman, pictured collapsed on the pavement, was portrayed by some media as an injured Hanson supporter and others as an anti-racist protester injured in the crush. "The truth is that the women was a protester who fainted in the excitement, but minutes later rejoined the crowd", King said.
Responding to reports that the crowd was out of control, King said, "The crowd was clearly angry, but it was controlled. Naturally, people are angry at the repeated attempts by Hanson to portray the most disadvantaged members of society as somehow the most privileged.
"People are fed up with her lies and attacks on Aboriginal and migrant communities. Hanson is whipping up a racist atmosphere which will only serve to deny Aboriginal people and migrants their democratic rights."
King pointed out that organisers had coordinated with police before the action to avoid a confrontation with National Action, which has been harassing and attacking activists in recent weeks.
"The police failed to arrange an effective entrance for those wanting to attend Hanson's meeting. They closed off the barricade early and allowed National Action to pass through the protesters. The police not only allowed National Action to enter the crowd — punching and kicking their way through — but they instructed them to take this path!
"This large group pushing and shoving its way to the front was what provoked a reaction", King said. "This placed peaceful protesters at risk, and a number were assaulted. A couple of protesters were taken by police but they were released — no-one was arrested or charged. Some of the organisers are lodging a formal complaint with the police."
Resistance member Emma Webb was attacked by a National Action member who climbed over her to get into the meeting. "The police just watched until struggles broke out", Webb told Green Left Weekly. "Then they helped NA get across the barricades."
Participants on the edge of the rally told Green Left that the police also failed to respond to requests for assistance when they were subjected to verbal harassment from pro-Hanson supporters.
King continued. "The majority of people were undeterred by the brutality of NA. People took care of each other and focused on the political purpose of the rally."
"It is important to directly challenge the message of racists like Hanson and Howard, so that it doesn't have the space to flourish."
Why we protest against Hanson.