Pauline Hanson’s “despicable” decision to wear a burqa in the Senate has been condemned by politicians across the divide, amid warnings the stunt will fuel abuse and harassment against Muslim girls and women.
The One Nation leader entered the upper house on Monday afternoon wearing the religious garment shortly after failing to move a bill banning the Islamic covering from public places.
Senator Hanson has been lashed by her parliamentary colleagues in the Greens, coalition and the crossbench.
Independent senator Fatima Payman, who quit Labor over its stance on Palestine, said the behaviour left others feeling unsafe.
“This is … an old trick that Pauline Hanson’s pulled out of the bag. Very disrespectful, very un-Australian,” she told ABC News
Senator Payman, a Muslim, said the stunt would most likely lead to school girls and women wearing hijabs to be abused or assaulted.
Cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek pointed to the issue of growing right-wing extremism in Australia.
“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’s 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 said the stunt weakened the controversial senator’s case and cheapened the nation’s 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 ordered Senator Hanson to leave the chamber for being disrespectful.
It’s the second time Senator Hanson has worn the burqa inside the parliament.
After first attempting the stunt in the upper house in 2017, Senator Hanson was slammed by then attorney-general George Brandis, who labelled it an “appalling thing to do”.
Speaking on the latest incident, Mr Brandis labelled it “despicable”.
“Every once in a while, she dreams up a new stunt to try and make herself the centre of political attention and discussion,” he told ABC radio.
“It reminds people both that the One Nation party has absolutely nothing to offer the Australian people, but also that the kind of politics they practice are ugly and divisive politics.”
Asked about the increase in One Nation’s popularity, Mr Brandis said he’s “not overly alarmed”.
Redbridge Group director and former Victorian Labor strategist Kos Samaras said the “permanent problem for right-wing populist outfits is that protest is easy.”
“That only grows the base so much,” he wrote on X.
“Sooner or later you have to project a serious alternative, not just a rolling stunt show.”
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
