Young people opposed to Pauline Hanson's One Nation staged a demonstration against the party's presence in the Hunter region on Friday, August 28.
The protesters, formed organisers said by a loose collection of different activist groups in the region, vowed to disrupt Senator Hanson's fundraiser at the Toronto Hotel after the party announced its candidate for the seat of Cessnock earlier in the day.
Between 30 and 50 demonstrators gathered, under the watchful eye of at least eight police, saying they would "call out what they see as a vile expression of a racist, denialist and sophistic ideology".
Officers intercepted the group on the footpath outside the venue, as they chanted through megaphones to the fundraiser going on inside. Passing drivers sounded horns and called to the protesters.
Numbers fell as the evening went on, before the protesters disbanded about 7.30pm, without incident.
Police estimated about 300 attended the fundraiser, with protesters monitored by officers to "ensure the safety of the community".
The demonstration followed student strikes earlier this month in major cities, sparking a protest in Civic Park on August 14, opposing the rise of the populist right and the influence of rich donors in swaying policy.
"Pauline is bought out by Gina Rinehart. For the 'Aussie Battler' she claims to be, she certainly didn't catch the train to Fassifern when she arrived in Newcastle," Gauri, a Hunter high schooler and spokeswoman for the protesters, said.
"I am a first-generation immigrant; it's pretty hard to get permanency, let alone citizenship in this country. It costs 10 grand to even start the application.
"This country gets so much out of immigrants for free, without needing to help them through education or access healthcare; Pauline's own money comes from the work of immigrants."
Sam, another high school student in the region, said Senator Hanson and her party's denial of climate change were toxic to the region's energy and economic future, and would "only lead to catastrophe".
"This problem is, unfortunately, much bigger than just Pauline Hanson," he said.
Sam, another high school student in the region, said Senator Hanson and her party's denial of climate change were toxic to the region's energy and economic future, and would "only lead to catastrophe".
"This problem is, unfortunately, much bigger than just Pauline Hanson," he said.
One Nation has declared investment banker Mike Newman will stand as its candidate in Cessnock at next year's NSW election, joining Hunter Valley coal miner and cattle farmer Stuart Bonds as the party's candidate for Upper House.
Mr Newman, a former NSW trade and investment commissioner who has not lived in NSW for 25 years, had his candidacy announced in Singleton on Friday, with Senator Hanson, Mr Bonds and Nationals defector Barnaby Joyce as the party seeks to disrupt the Hunter's Labor strongholds.
Labor holds the seat of Cessnock with a 23 per cent margin.
One Nation is polling at 25 per cent in NSW, according to a Sydney Morning Herald Resolve poll in July, ahead of the Coalition on 23 per cent with Labor in front at 29 per cent.
In a statement on Saturday morning, Maitland MP and NSW Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said the Hunter had been ignored under the last Coalition government, and would labelled One Nation as a vehicle that would return the region to the same relegation.
"One Nation has shown people exactly what it stands for - sending manufacturing jobs offshore, cutting essential services and helping put the Liberals and Nationals back into government," she said.
"The Hunter and NSW deserve better than this. We are great at building things, and under our government, we'll be the home of manufacturing again."
NSW Premier Chris Minns conceded in July that Labor would have to "climb Everest" to stay in power due to the rising threat from One Nation.
Students and young voters have railed against Senator Hanson and her policies, describing them as racist, out of touch, and divisive.
Hunter activist Lily Campbell, who organised the Civic Park student protest on August 14, said the protesters represented the generation that would be crippled by the senator's policies.
She said the groundswell of support for fringe populists and the far right had been born from long-simmering social dissatisfaction and eroding standards of living.
"The collapse of the Liberal party as the traditional home for conservative voters has allowed Pauline Hanson's base to massively grow," she said. "That has been compounded by people's living standards declining for many years now. People are angry and looking for answers.
"People like Hanson, like Farage and Trump, are taking an existing bedrock of racism and nationalism and taking it to a whole other level."
The organisers of yesterday's protest demanded venues in the region exclude One Nation events.
