Australian Senator, Pauline Hanson, has sparked outrage after appearing in parliament wearing a burka, reigniting her long-running campaign to ban the Muslim face covering.
Hanson, a Queensland representative for the anti-immigration One Nation party, donned the garment during a session on Monday after fellow lawmakers blocked her attempt to introduce a bill seeking to prohibit full face coverings in public.
She has been advocating the policy for years.
This marks the second time she has worn a burka in the chamber. Hanson said the act was a protest against the senate’s refusal to allow her proposed legislation to be tabled.
Proceedings were disrupted when she declined to remove the covering, drawing immediate criticism from across the chamber.
Mehreen Faruqi, a Muslim senator from New South Wales representing the Greens, lashed out at Hanson, saying, “This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism.”
Independent senator, Fatima Payman, from Western Australia also condemned the move, calling it “disgraceful.”
Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, the government’s leader in the senate, described the display as “disrespectful” and stressed the importance of representing Australians of diverse backgrounds respectfully.
“We represent in our states, people of every faith, of every faith of all backgrounds. And we should do so decently,” Wong said, adding that Hanson was “not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate” before moving a motion to suspend her for refusing to remove the garment.
On Facebook, Hanson defended her actions, writing, “If they don’t want me wearing it – ban the burka.”
Hanson previously made headlines in 2017 when she wore a burka into parliament during an earlier push for a national ban.
Her history of controversial statements includes a 2016 maiden senate speech where she claimed Australia was at risk of being “swamped by Muslims”—a remark reminiscent of her 1996 declaration warning the nation was being “swamped by Asians.”
