Australia senator suspended after burka stunt in parliament

Independent senator Fatima Payman (pictured left) called the stunt by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson ‘disgraceful’

The leader of Australia’s far-right One Nation party Pauline Hanson has worn a burka on the floor of the nation’s Senate. Her entrance drew audible shock from other senators ahead of a bid by her party to ban the garment in Australia.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp reported Ms Hanson had elicited gasps during her entrance and one senator was heard to to say “oh, what on earth”. Senate president Stephen Parry confirmed she had been identified before entering the chamber. Ms Hanson later removed the burka.

Her motion to ban the garment will be debated in the Senate later on Thursday.In a statement online, she said “the need to ban full face coverings in public [is] an important issue facing modern Australia”.

Government minister George Brandis condemned Ms Hanson’s stunt and “counselled and cautioned” her against causing offence to religious groups. Mr Brandis received a standing applause from opposition parties.

Mr Brandis’s speech drew a rare overt display of support from the Labor and Greens parties, who stood and congratulated him.

“It is one thing to wear religious dress as a sincere act of faith, there is another wear it as a stunt here in the chamber,” said Labor Senator Penny Wong.

The Australian senator has been suspended for a week after wearing a burka in parliament to push for a ban on the Muslim garment. Pauline Hanson was condemned by fellow senators – and later formally censured – for the stunt on Monday, with one colleague accusing her of “blatant racism”.

The Queensland senator, of the anti-immigration One Nation party, was seeking to introduce a bill that would outlaw full face coverings in public – a policy she has long campaigned for.It is the second time she has worn the garment – which covers the face and body – in parliament, and said her actions were in protest at the senate rejecting her bill.

Shortly after other lawmakers blocked her from introducing the bill on Monday, she returned wearing a black burka.

“This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism,” said Mehreen Faruqi, a Muslim Greens senator whom the Federal Court last year found was a victim of racial discrimination by Hanson – a judgement the latter is currently appealing.

Fatima Payman, an independent senator from the state of Western Australia, called the stunt “disgraceful”.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who serves as leader of the government in the senate, on Tuesday moved a motion to censure Hanson, claiming she “has been parading prejudice as protest for decades”.

The motion, which passed 55 votes to five, states that Hanson’s actions were “intended to vilify and mock people on the basis of their religion” and were “disrespectful to Muslim Australians”.

Wong earlier argued Hanson was “not worthy of a member of the Australian senate”. In a post on Facebook, Hanson wrote: “If they don’t want me wearing it – ban the burka.”She previously wore a burka to parliament in 2017, also calling for a national ban at the time.The leader of Australia’s far-right One Nation party has worn a burka on the floor of the nation’s Senate.

Pauline Hanson’s entrance drew audible shock from other senators ahead of a bid by her party to ban the garment in Australia.

Government minister George Brandis condemned Ms Hanson’s stunt and “counselled and cautioned” her against causing offence to religious groups.

In an emotional speech, Mr Brandis said Ms Hanson’s actions risked alienating approximately 500,000 Australians who adhered to the Islamic faith.

“To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to mock its religious garments, is an appalling thing to do and I would ask you reflect on what you have done,” said Mr Brandis, who is Australia’s attorney-general. He added: “No, Senator Hanson, we will not ban the burka.”

The Australian Broadcasting Corp reported Ms Hanson had elicited gasps during her entrance and one senator was heard to to say “oh, what on earth”. Senate president Stephen Parry confirmed she had been identified before entering the chamber. Ms Hanson later removed the burka.

Mr Brandis’s speech drew a rare overt display of support from the Labor and Greens parties, who stood and congratulated him. “It is one thing to wear religious dress as a sincere act of faith, there is another to wear it as a stunt here in the chamber,” said Labor Senator Penny Wong. Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Mr Brandis had made a “strong, impassioned, and personal response”.

Ms Hanson has repeatedly generated controversy since first being elected to parliament in 1996. In 2016, she gave a heavily criticised speech saying Australia was being “swamped by Muslims”. She also faced calls to apologise two months ago after suggesting students with autism should be removed from classrooms.