Australian Senator Pauline Hanson has been barred from Parliament for the rest of the year after wearing a burqa in the Senate as part of a protest against her own bill to ban full-face coverings in public.
The 71-year-old leader of the anti-Muslim, anti-immigration One Nation party first wore the head-to-toe garment on Monday, prompting senators to suspend her for the day. On Tuesday, in the absence of an apology, the Senate passed a censure motion, barring Hanson from seven consecutive sitting days. With Parliament adjourning for the year on Thursday, her suspension will continue when sessions resume in February 2026.
Hanson told reporters she expects to be judged by voters at the next election in 2028, not by her colleagues. "They didn't want to ban the burqa, yet they denied me the right to wear it on the floor of Parliament. There is no dress code on the floor of Parliament, yet I'm not allowed to wear it. So to me, it's been hypocritical," she said.
The censure motion was moved by Senate leader Penny Wong, who said Hanson had "mocked and vilified an entire faith" followed by nearly one million Australians. Fellow Muslim senators Mehreen Faruqi and Fatima Payman described Hanson's actions as disgraceful and harmful to the social fabric.
Hanson has long been known for these views
Hanson, who previously sparked outrage with a similar stunt in 2017, is also appealing a ruling that she breached racial anti-discrimination law in a social media post directed at Faruqi. Advocacy groups condemned her repeated targeting of Muslims, migrants, and minorities. Hanson has long been known for her anti-immigration and racially charged views, dating back to her first parliamentary speech in 1996.