Federal Deputy Greens Leader Mehreen Faruqi has urged Tasmanians to “fight like hell” against the far right and One Nation.
It comes as One Nation’s Lee Hanson says she is fearing for her family’s safety amid rising hostility towards the party.
About 200 young Tasmanians rallied against One Nation outside Parliament House in Hobart last week, as part of what organisers described as a national day of student action.
In Hobart on Tuesday, Faruqi said she was “completely 100% backing” the students.
“They do not want the divisive racist politics that One Nation is offering, that is turning neighbour against neighbour,” she said.
“We have to do everything that is possible and fight like hell to push back against the far right and One Nation.”
Last week, One Nation State President Lee Hanson told Pulse the rally was “deeply concerning on many, many levels” and she believed some of the chants were “inciting harm”.
“It demonstrates that our kids are being indoctrinated through school and they’re being groomed, pure and simple, by political organisations,” she said at the time.
When asked about those comments, Faruqi responded “I think there’s a lot of rubbish that comes out of mouths of One Nation, out of One Nation people.”
Faruqi said young people had always been on the front lines of social issues, including climate justice, anti-racism and justice for First Nations people.
“We stand alongside them because we want a country that is full of respect, that is full of inclusivity, that is not divisive and hateful,” she said.
Faruqi described the students as the future of the country and said she wanted a country that was fair and joyful.
“We want a country that respects everyone who is here, no matter where they come from, what their religion, what the colour of their skin,” she said.
Speaking on News24 on Tuesday night, Hanson, the daughter of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, said she was worried about her mother’s safety for “the first time in a very long time”.
“I’m worried about the safety of our MPs,” she said.
“We’ve had staff members that have been attacked off the back of these student rallies.”
She said further death threats had been made against her mother over the weekend.
“So our safety and our security is real,” she said.
Hanson said that the prime minister had called for people to “turn down the heat”, but had not condemned a report featuring a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader praising Pauline Hanson.
“Where was he today?” she said.
The report, aired by Nine News, featured an interview with KKK leader Thomas Robb, who said it was “encouraging” to see Pauline Hanson doing well in the polls.
Hanson said for a KKK leader to praise One Nation was “nothing but repulsive” and that the party absolutely condemned the group.
“We’ve got a violent, racist organisation who shares zero beliefs in any way, shape or form with our party or our members or our supporters,” she said.
