One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been suspended from the Senate for seven days, following a motion introduced by Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Hanson refused to apologise for her actions on Monday, when she entered the chamber wearing a black burqa.
The censure motion passed with 55 votes in favour and five against – those opposing were Hanson, three One Nation senators, and United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet.
Given five minutes to respond, Hanson reiterated her stance.
“You dare question me over my respect for this place,” she said.
“The senators in this place have no respect for the Australian people, when they have an elected member who wants to move something and to represent them and have their say.
“If there was no concern over banning of the burqa or full face coverings, why did you stop me?”
As she left the chamber, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe heckled, “See ya later racist!”
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi also interjected, asking, “Where is the apology?” while Hanson was speaking.
Speaking to media after the motion passed, Hanson said the censure “Doesn’t worry me, not at all.”
Independent senator Fatima Payman, who recently left Labor over its stance on Palestine, criticised the stunt earlier in the day, saying the behaviour made others feel unsafe.
“This is… an old trick that Pauline Hanson’s pulled out of the bag. Very disrespectful, very unAustralian,” she told ABC News.
When asked about the potential impact on Muslim women, Senator Payman – who wears a hijab – warned the stunt could embolden abuse.
“There is bound to be people out on the streets, young schoolgirls, who are probably yelled at or abused or assaulted, and it is just the division we do not want to see in society.”
Ali Kadri, chief executive of the Islamic College of Brisbane, agreed.
“Whenever Pauline Hanson does these stunts in the Parliament, it escalates and radicalises people even more where people think that it is OK to abuse a little Australian Muslim girl wearing a hijab,” he said.
Cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek highlighted broader concerns about rising right-wing extremism.
“I don’t remember the last time someone in a burqa robbed a bank, but I do recall a couple of weeks ago that there was a queue of neo-Nazis standing outside NSW Parliament,” she told ABC radio.
“Senator Hanson’s stunt yesterday is simply a guarantee that some schoolgirl wearing a headscarf is going to get bullied on the train on the way to school today. I don’t see how it helps anyone.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley criticised the display, saying it undermined Hanson’s position and diminished the parliament.
“This is a reminded of how brittle One Nation’s politics are, they must resort to reheating desperate stunts,” she said.
“Australians deserve better and we will remain focused on fighting for them and holding the government to account.”
Senate President Sue Lines ultimately ordered Hanson to leave the chamber for being disrespectful.
This marks the second time Hanson has worn a burqa inside parliament.
Her first attempt in 2017 drew widespread condemnation, including from then attorney-general George Brandis, who called it an “appalling thing to do”.
Commenting on the latest incident, Brandis described it as “despicable.”
Images: Instagram
