Australian Senator Pauline Hanson Suspended for Wearing Burqa in Parliament Protest

Australian Senator Pauline Hanson has been suspended from Parliament for the remainder of the year after wearing a burqa on the Senate floor in a protest over her push for a national ban on full-face coverings.

Hanson, 71, who leads the anti-immigration One Nation party, entered the chamber on Monday dressed in the head-to-toe garment to criticize lawmakers’ refusal to consider her bill seeking to outlaw the burqa and similar coverings in public spaces. Senators described the act as a disrespectful stunt and initially suspended her for the rest of the day.

With Hanson refusing to apologize, the Senate on Tuesday passed a censure motion imposing one of the toughest penalties seen in decades. She has now been barred from seven consecutive sitting days, a suspension that will extend into February when Parliament reconvenes after rising on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters after the decision, Hanson insisted she would be accountable only to voters in the 2028 election, accusing her colleagues of hypocrisy. “They didn’t want to ban the burqa, yet they denied me the right to wear it. There is no dress code on the floor of Parliament, yet I’m not allowed to wear it,” she said.

Hanson previously sparked outrage in 2017 when she wore a burqa in the Senate during a similar protest, but she faced no disciplinary action at the time. On Tuesday, the censure motion was moved by Senate leader Penny Wong, who said Hanson had “mocked and vilified an entire faith” practiced by nearly one million Australians.

“Her hateful and shallow pageantry tears at our social fabric and makes Australia weaker,” Wong said.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, one of only two Muslim women in the Senate alongside Fatima Payman, said the action should mark the beginning of efforts to address systemic racism in the country. Payman, who wears a hijab, condemned Hanson’s actions on Monday as “disgraceful” and “a shame.”

Hanson also faces ongoing legal battles. A judge ruled last year that she breached anti-discrimination laws after telling Faruqi in a social media post to “return to her homeland,” a decision she is currently appealing.

Rateb Jneid, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said Hanson’s latest protest reflected a “pattern of behavior that has repeatedly vilified Muslims, migrants and minorities.”

Hanson has long drawn controversy for her views on race and immigration, dating back to her 1996 parliamentary debut, when she claimed Australia was “in danger of being swamped by Asians.”