By Tom Flanagan
DARWIN — A strong statement against the racist politics of Pauline Hanson was made here on August 26. Eight hundred people rallied outside a One Nation party recruiting meeting in suburban Nightcliff. This was despite prior media coverage concentrating on the potential for violence at the protest.
The One Nation meeting attracted a paltry 20 people; there were more journalists in the hall than Hanson supporters.
The peaceful but spirited rally began with a welcome from Larrakia woman June Mills, the Greens' candidate for Nightcliff in the territory election on August 30.
It was chaired by the Democratic Socialists' Tim Stewart and addressed by Marcia Langton from the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation; Alice Casmiro-Branco from the Ethnic Communities Council; Labor opposition leader Maggie Hickey; Country-Liberal Party (CLP) minister for ethnic affairs Steve Hatton; anti-discrimination commissioner Dawn Lawrie; Uniting Church minister Reverend Steve Orm; and Des McKenzie from the NT Trades and Labour Council.
Langton and others hit out at the racist election campaign run by the governing CLP. The party made native title a key election issue, asserting that Darwin residents risk losing access to beaches and fishing spots if land rights are allowed. The Larrakia, the traditional owners of Darwin, have assured people that these areas are not threatened.
Hatton, the member for Nightcliff, was keen to win credibility by participating in the rally. His minders lobbied the rally organisers to place him first on the speaking list, claiming it was "proper protocol". Rather than gaining kudos, Hatton was booed and heckled, and interrupted by chants of "Defend native title!".
McKenzie pointed out that it was a CLP member who had helped arrange Hanson's first visit to the NT, and observed that the CLP might fear losing members to One Nation.
The highlight of the evening — apart from the departure of the One Nation supporters long before the rally ended — was when Mills sang a song written by her mother many years earlier to celebrate the multi-racial make-up of Darwin.
Everyone left the rally with a strong sense of what is at stake in the race debate, and a heightened commitment to oppose racism.