Pauline Hanson’s bizarre vision of 2050 surfaces in court – as she appeals ruling she racially targetted Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi

Australia decades from now will be ruled by a multi-racial, lesbian, part-cyborg president, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has written.

The science-fiction prediction featured in the outspoken politician’s book, The Truth, which claims in 2050, the country of ‘Australasia’ will be run by President Poona Li Hung.

Written in 1997, the extract was revived in the Federal Court to highlight the One Nation leader’s alleged tendency to be racist as she tries to overturn a racial vilification finding.

‘Ms Hung, a lesbian, is of multiracial descent, of Indian and Chinese background and was felt by the World Government to be a most suitable president,’ Senator Hanson wrote in her book.

‘She is also part machine – the first cyborg president.’

The text was raised by a lawyer for Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi in defence of a 2024 finding she was racially vilified by Senator Hanson.

‘Senator Hanson’s worst nightmare for Australia is a lesbian, cyborg, Asian woman as a president,’ Senator Faruqi’s barrister Jessie Taylor told the court.

The day of the Queen’s death in September 2022, the Greens senator took to Twitter, now known as X, to offer condolences to those who knew the monarch.

Senator Faruqi added she could not mourn the passing of the leader of a ‘racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples’.

In response, Senator Hanson said she was appalled and disgusted by the comments.

‘When you immigrated to Australia you took every advantage of this country,’ she wrote.

‘It’s clear you’re not happy, so pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan.’

Justice Angus Stewart found in his November 2024 decision that migrants of colour, Australians who had recently immigrated, or Muslims who were people of colour in Australia would be insulted, offended, humiliated and intimidated by the tweet.

The ruling concluded Senator Hanson had breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it illegal to ‘offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate’ based on race, colour or national or ethnic origin

His withering assessment of the One Nation leader’s credibility was also put before the three appeal judges on Tuesday.

‘I was left with the distinct impression that Senator Hanson would say anything that came to mind if she thought that it would suit her at that time,’ the judge wrote.

This would mean the appeals court should not overturn the judge’s findings about the firebrand politician, including that she knew Senator Faruqi was Muslim, used the country of Pakistan as a racialised device, and did not act reasonably and in good faith by posting the tweet, her lawyer said.

There was no doubt that the status of the Greens deputy leader as a brown, Muslim, South Asian immigrant motivated Senator Hanson’s tweet, Ms Taylor said.

‘If someone else had tweeted ‘go back to Pakistan’ it could be a holiday suggestion, it could be travel advice,’ she told the court.

‘It is not in the context of Senator Hanson’s tweet.’

Senator Hanson has argued the tweet would not offend or insult a particular group because it solely targeted Senator Faruqi.

Saul Holt KC also dismissed claims Twitter users were used to the argy-bargy of politicians saying things they would not normally say in person.

On Monday, the first day of the appeal hearing, Senator Hanson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou had argued Senator Faruqi’s tweet was ‘provocative’ in the wake of the Queen’s death and ‘was reasonably likely to incite a response’.

She added there was ‘quite a vigorous response’ with many commenters sharing near-identical views to Senator Hanson.

The three-day hearing continues.

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