Students from nearly 40 high schools and colleges across South Australia gathered on the steps of Parliament House on Thursday to protest the rise of Pauline Hanson and One Nation.

They joined thousands who protested nationwide in what was dubbed “Say no to Pauline Hanson”.

Organisers said more than 1000 people had attended the protest, which spilled onto the street outside Parliament House.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said young people being interested in politics and political discourse was a “good thing”, but that when it came to school-aged children, “ideally they’re at school”.

Various speakers including Socialist Alternative organiser Jordan Armstrong and SA Socialists state secretary Tom Gilchrist led the crowd in chants including “f**k Pauline”, “trans rights are human rights” and “Pauline Hanson go to hell, take One Nation there as well”.

Another notable speaker at the event was recently-elected Greens MLC Melanie Selwood.

There were numerous placards and signs in the crowd,including one that said “there are no good racicts (sic)”.

Australian Science and Maths School student Julia, 15, said she was worried about the future if Pauline Hanson continued to gain support.

“As the younger generation, it’s my job to protect my future, and I think Pauline Hanson has no one’s best interest in her but the rich,” she said.

Sixteen-year-old Nick, from Adelaide Botanic High School, said he did not agree with Senator Hanson’s immigration policies.

Nick had a homemade sign with the words “flick Hanson”, a reference to “flick the United Nations” t-shirts that are sold through the One Nation website.

St Michael’s College student Vivienne, 17, said she believed Australia should be “a place of peace and unity” and that hate is “not welcome in this country”.

“I believe that the youth of Adelaide specifically is, you know, we’re really present in our politics,” she said.

“Everybody wants to make a big change. I’m pleasantly surprised by the amount of older people that have turned up as well, of all generations, all ages, and yeah, it’s really good to see.”

Vivienne said if she could say one thing to Senator Hanson it would be: “just be kind and maybe step down from your position because there are much better people that could be doing it right now”.

Fifteen-year-old Banksia Park student Martha said: “I just think her (Pauline Hanson’s) views on trans people and pro-life are just so disrespectful and invasive”.

An early attendee at the protest was One Nation SA leader Cory Bernardi, who arrived at Parliament House just as the protesters had begun gathering.

Mr Bernardi told media he had been advised by police not to attend, and accused the participants of being indoctrinated.

“They’re supporting socialism which is a failed doctrine all over the world,” he said.

“They hate capitalism, they obviously hate Australia.”

Mr Bernardi was met with fierce opposition by the crowd, including from Mr Armstrong, who told him “how dare you be here”.

After protesting for just over an hour, the throng began a march up King William Rd and down Rundle Mall, continuing their chant of “f*ck Pauline”.

Protests are occurring simultaneously in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Newcastle and Wollongong.

The event was organised by the National Union of Students, with members of Socialist

Alternative, a university group comprising left-wing students, and the high-school anti-capitalist Instagram page spearheading the Adelaide protest.

Schools with students participating in the protest included Adelaide High School, Adelaide Botanic High School, Urrbrae Agricultural High School, Australian Science and Mathmatics School.

The protest concluded at the Pulteney St end of Rundle Mall, where a makeshift barricade of police halted the protesters.

To cries of “we’ll be back”, protest organisers announced a second school and university walk-out would take place on September 17.

Responding to the calls for protest, Senator Hanson said schools should teach young people “how to think, not what to think,” despite there being no evidence of any schools explicitly endorsing the protests.

“If you want to protest something, protest why your parents’ wages are going backwards and the cost of everything is going up,” she said.

“The Labor Greens government is selling out your future, and you’ll inherit a weaker, poorer and less safe country. Whether you know it or not, One Nation and I are fighting for you.”

Mr Armstrong said the protest was a “momentous occasion” and that more than 2000 students had come out to “say no to Pauline Hanson’s disgusting racism”.

“We need to make a disruption to the status quo,” he said.

“We have the rise of far-right politics that is about racism, sexism and anti-worker politics, this is a threat.

“Pauline Hanson wants to do what Donald Trump is doing in America, deport tens of thousands of migrants from this country. These are our classmates, our friends. We need to stop this before it happens here in Australia.”

While the Premier supported the idea of young adults taking an interest in politics, he said there were oppourtunities for it to be outside of school hours.

“What I would say to anybody who advocates for their position, do it civilly, do it respectfully,” he said.

“As long as it’s done in a way that is law abiding, then that’s okay, but for young kids, as best as they can, I think they should be in school.”

One Nation state president Carlos Quaremba said last week that Australia was a free country and students were “more than welcome” to protest.

Two One Nation staffers had tried to attend a meeting of the protest’s organisers, but were chased out once their identities were discovered.