One Nation’s Hanson Suspended From Senate After Wearing Burqa in Chamber

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been suspended from the Senate and sanctioned on Nov. 24 after entering the chamber wearing a burqa once again, a stunt that brought proceedings to a standstill for more than an hour and a half.

Hanson refused repeated orders to remove the garment or leave the chamber, prompting Senate President Sue Lines to invoke the rare step of suspending the entire sitting—halting debate during the final parliamentary week of the year.

The senator later labelled colleagues “hypocrites” on social media for blocking her attempt to introduce a bill to ban all face coverings.

Uproar on the Senate Floor

Hanson slipped into the chamber mid-debate, instantly drawing surprised reactions from senators who saw it as a repeat of the 2017 stunt.

Independent Senators Lidia Thorpe, Fatima Payman, and the Greens Mehreen Faruqi accused Hanson of disrespecting Islam and Muslim Australians.

“This needs to be dealt with immediately before we proceed, it’s disgraceful,” Payman said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong demanded immediate intervention.

“Senator Hanson, all of us in this place … represent people of every faith,” Wong said. “The sort of disrespect that you are engaging in now is not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate, and it should not be allowed to stand.”

Anne Ruston, the Liberal Party’s deputy opposition leader in the Senate agreed saying it was “not a respectful way to address other people,” calling it a stunt with “no other purpose” than provocation.

With Hanson refusing to comply, President Lines cleared the chamber and suspended the Senate for more than 90 minutes while senators discussed possible disciplinary action, including a potential censure.

When proceedings resumed, condemnation was swift.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said Hanson “debased” the Parliament: “While this might attract the interest of a small fringe, middle Australia don’t like the parliament being debased like this.”

The stunt echoed her 2017 burqa appearance, which at the time prompted then-Attorney-General George Brandis to denounce it as “an appalling thing to do.”

Hanson Defiant

At a press conference afterwards, Hanson stood with her fellow One Nation senators and defended her proposed bill, claiming the burqa represented “a national security issue” and compared it to helmet-removal rules in banks.

“Is it a religious requirement to wear the burqa, many Imams have actually said that …  and to comment and call me a racist—they have no idea what they’re talking about,” she said.

When asked to cite a security incident involving burqas, she replied: “Can I suggest you call ASIO?”

Pressed further, she conceded: “I can’t answer you that question.”

Envoy Calls it Worrisome

Aftab Malik, the special envoy for Islamophobia, condemned Hanson’s stunt and warned it risked making Muslim women more vulnerable.

“[These Muslim women] already face harassment, threats of rape, and violence … not because of what they have done, but because of what they wear,” he said.

“Veiled Muslim women have long been easy targets for bigotry and intolerance … a proposed burqa ban will further stigmatise them as outsiders and embolden harassment and abuse.”