Australian senator Pauline Hanson has been suspended from the chamber for one week after wearing a burka into parliament as part of a renewed push to ban full-face coverings in public.
The move drew immediate condemnation from colleagues across party lines, culminating in a formal censure motion that criticised her conduct as disrespectful to Muslim Australians.
Hanson, a Queensland representative from the anti-immigration One Nation party, attempted on Monday to introduce legislation seeking a nationwide prohibition on full-face veils. The Senate declined to allow the bill to be introduced, a position consistent with previous rejections of similar proposals she has advanced over the years. Shortly after the bill was blocked, Hanson re-entered the chamber wearing a black burka, prompting protests from fellow senators and a temporary halt to proceedings.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, a Muslim lawmaker from New South Wales, denounced the act as “blatant racism”. Faruqi was last year found by the Federal Court to have been subjected to racial discrimination by Hanson, a ruling Hanson is currently appealing. Independent senator Fatima Payman of Western Australia also criticised the display, calling it “disgraceful” and accusing Hanson of using the chamber to provoke rather than legislate.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who leads the government in the Senate, introduced a censure motion that passed 55–5. The motion stated that Hanson’s conduct was “intended to vilify and mock people on the basis of their religion” and was “disrespectful to Muslim Australians”. Wong said Hanson’s behaviour represented a pattern, arguing that she “has been parading prejudice as protest for decades” and adding that the stunt was “not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate”.
The chamber also supported Hanson’s suspension for one week after she declined to remove the garment when directed, forcing presiding officers to interrupt proceedings. The temporary suspension bars her from participating in Senate business during that period.
Hanson later defended her actions on Facebook, writing, “If they don’t want me wearing it – ban the burka.” She has long campaigned for restrictions on Muslim face coverings, describing them in the past as a threat to public safety and social cohesion. Monday’s incident marks the second time she has worn a burka into Australia’s parliament; she first did so in 2017 while advocating a similar ban.
Hanson’s positions on immigration and multiculturalism have drawn controversy throughout her political career. In her 2016 maiden speech to the Senate, she warned that Australia risked being “swamped by Muslims”, echoing language from her first speech to the House of Representatives in 1996 in which she claimed the country was in danger of being “swamped by Asians”. Both remarks triggered widespread criticism but became central to her political identity and the platform of One Nation.
The latest confrontation underscores ongoing tensions in Australia over issues of race, religion, and national identity.
While Hanson has framed her actions as part of a long-running campaign on public security, most senators rejected the method and message of her protest, describing it as an attempt to mock a religious practice rather than a legitimate legislative intervention. Her suspension takes immediate effect, though her party has indicated she will continue to push for debate on face-covering restrictions once she returns to the chamber.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
