Khaberni - The Australian Senate suspended today, Tuesday, the work of the extreme right-wing senator Pauline Hanson for seven sessions after she wore a burqa in Parliament yesterday as part of her campaign to ban this attire in public places, which elicited condemnation from legislators.
Hanson, aged 71, leads the small anti-Muslim and anti-immigration One Nation party, and was accused yesterday, Monday, of conducting an offensive act when she entered the Senate wearing a burqa in protest against her colleagues' refusal to consider a bill she introduced that bans burqas and other full-face coverings in public places.
The Senate members decided to suspend Hanson from duty for the rest of Monday, and in the absence of any apology from her, the council today passed a censure motion that imposes one of the harshest penalties on a senator in recent decades in Australia, as she was banned from attending 7 consecutive Senate sessions.
The Senate will conclude its business for this year on Thursday, and Hanson's punishment will continue when the parliament resumes its sessions in February of next year.
Hanson responded to the penalty with statements saying she "will be judged by the voters in the upcoming 2028 elections, and not by her colleagues in the council".
She added, "They did not want to ban the burqa, yet they deprived me of the right to wear it in the chamber. There is no dress code in Parliament, yet I was not allowed to wear it. For me, this is hypocrisy".
Trivial Show
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, leading the Labor Party (center-left) government in the Senate, submitted a censure proposal against Hanson, and the proposal passed with a vote of 55 against 5.
Wong said, "Senator Hanson's repugnant and trivial display tears our social fabric, and I believe it makes Australia weaker, and also has harsh consequences for many of the most vulnerable people."
She added, "Senator Hanson mocked and distorted an entire religion, a religion adhered to by nearly a million Australians. I have never seen someone show such disrespect to parliament."
Mehreen Faruqi, a Muslim and a member of the Senate for the Greens party from New South Wales, said, "This senator is racist, she is a model of blatant racism."
Rateb Junaid, president of the Federation of Islamic Councils of Australia, said in a statement that Hanson's wearing of the burqa was "part of a pattern of behavior that persistently offends Muslims, immigrants, and minorities."
One Nation party has benefited from rising nationalist sentiment and anti-immigration policies and has expanded its presence in the Senate to four seats, gaining two in the general election last May. Recent polls have shown increasing support for Hanson and One Nation.
Hanson, a Senate member from Queensland, first came to prominence in the 1990s due to her strong opposition to immigration from Asia and asylum seekers, and she has consistently launched campaigns against Islamic clothing.
This is the second time Hanson has worn a burqa in Parliament, repeating an act she performed in 2017 calling for a national ban on the attire.
