Australia’s Parliament erupted into chaos Monday when right-wing populist Sen. Pauline Hanson entered the chamber wearing a burqa, prompting outrage from Muslim lawmakers and forcing a suspension of proceedings.
According to Fox News, Hanson, 71, arrived in the full-face covering shortly after being denied permission to introduce her bill aiming to ban burqas and other face coverings in public.
The stunt sparked shouting across the chamber as senators demanded she remove the garment. When Hanson refused, Senate leaders halted the session.
Labor Senate leader and Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned the act, calling it “not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate,” and moved to suspend Hanson. Opposition Deputy Senate Leader Anne Ruston also criticized the stunt.
Two Muslim senators weighed in. Green party Sen. Mehreen Faruqi described Hanson as “a racist senator, displaying blatant racism.” Independent Sen. Fatima Payman called the act “disgraceful” and “shame.”
This incident marks the second time Hanson has worn a burqa in Parliament.
She first donned one in 2017 as part of her longstanding campaign against Islamic dress. Hanson has spent decades opposing immigration from Asia and criticizing Australia’s multicultural policies, positions that helped launch her political career in the 1990s.
Her One Nation party currently holds four Senate seats, having gained two in May’s national election, reflecting a rise in anti-immigration sentiment.
Following the uproar, Hanson posted a statement on her verified Facebook page, saying:
“Today I wore a burqa into the Senate after One Nation’s bill to ban the burqa and face coverings in public was blocked from even being introduced. The usual hypocrites had an absolute freak out.”
Hanson argued that “more than 20 countries around the world have banned the burqa because they recognize it as a tool that oppresses women, poses a national security risk, encourages radical Islam and threatens social cohesion.” She added, “If Parliament won’t ban it, I will display this oppressive, radical, nonreligious head garb… so that every Australian knows what’s at stake. If they don’t want me wearing it, ban the burqa.”
Hanson’s controversial history includes leaving Parliament in 1998, resigning as One Nation leader in 2002, and a brief jail term for electoral fraud in 2003, which was later overturned. She returned to lead One Nation in 2014 and was elected to the Senate in 2016, using her first speech to warn that “Australia was in danger of being swamped by Muslims.”
