A storm erupted in the Australian Parliament today (Monday) when Senator Pauline Hanson, leader of the far-right One Nation Party, entered the Senate chamber wearing a burqa. Her appearance was a protest against the rejection of a bill she had introduced that sought to ban full face coverings in public spaces in Australia.
Hanson entered the chamber draped in a burqa shortly after the leadership prevented her from bringing the bill to debate. Those present reacted with anger, and the Senate session was suspended when she refused to remove the face covering.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi called the act “blatant racism,” while independent Muslim senator Fatima Payman of Western Australia said it was a “shameful act.”
Penny Wong, leader of the governing party in the Senate, also condemned the behavior, saying it was “not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate.”
After Hanson refused to leave, the Senate decided to suspend the session. In a statement she later posted on her Facebook page, Hanson wrote: “If the Parliament won’t ban it - I will present this oppressive, extreme and non-religious garment myself so that every Australian citizen understands what’s at stake.”
Hanson caused a similar uproar in 2017, when she entered Parliament wearing a burqa to promote a similar bill. Her One Nation party currently holds four seats in the Senate, having won two of them in the elections held last May.