Uproar in the Senate as Pauline Hanson surprises by wearing her old BURQA and is called ‘racist’ by her archnemesis Mehreen Faruqi – and Penny Wong ERUPTS
The Senate has descended into chaos after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson entered the chamber wearing a burqa, sparking outrage among fellow senators.
Senator Hanson slinked onto the Senate floor just before 4pm wearing a black burqa veil over her head and a floral dress that cut off above the knee.
Hanson had attempted to table a bill, which would have banned burqas and full face coverings in Australia.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, who previously sued Hanson under the Racial Discrimination Act, condemned the stunt under parliamentary privilege.
‘This is a racist senator displaying blatant racism and Islamophobia, President, and someone should be pulling her up on that. It is you in the chair, you should be pulling her up on that,’ Faruqi said.
Independent senator Fatima Payman, who wears a hijab, also expressed anger.
‘She is disrespecting a faith, she is disrespecting the Muslims out there, Muslim Australians. It’s absolutely unconstitutional. This needs to be dealt with immediately before we proceed.’
Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined the criticism, calling for respect and decency in the chamber.
Pauline Hanson (pictured) wearing a burqa on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon
Pauline Hanson has been suspended from the Senate, after she wore a burqa in the chamber
‘I would say this to you … All of us in this place have a great privilege of coming into this chamber and we represent people of every faith, of all backgrounds, and we should do so decently. And what we should not do in this place is to be disrespectful of the chamber and of people of faiths,’ Wong said.
Following heated debate, senators voted to suspend Hanson from the Senate, ordered to return when she changed into ‘appropriate’ clothing by Senate President Sue Lines.
Hanson did not get to speak to or debate her motion.
The Senate was suspended shortly after Hanson was ordered to leave the chamber.
Hanson previously did a similar stunt in 2017, which was rebuked by then Attorney-General George Breandis, who denounced Hanson’s actions.
‘To ridicule someone’s religious garments is appalling. We are a tolerant society, and we should respect people’s faith,’ Brandis said at the time.
