The final sitting week of the year erupted into a standstill after Pauline Hanson entered the Senate wearing a burka, prompting a confrontation with the President, a rare suspension of proceedings, and sharp criticism from across the political spectrum.
Senator Hanson had attempted to introduce a bill to ban face coverings in public before the move was blocked. Minutes later she returned to the chamber in the garment, refused to leave when directed, and remained on the floor as President Sue Lines suspended the Senate for more than one and a half hours. Hanson was then sanctioned and prevented from returning for the rest of the day.
She left the building late in the afternoon and took to social media, calling her colleagues “hypocrites” for stopping her bill. She later expanded on her reasoning. “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. The fact is more than 20 countries around the world have banned the Burqa because they recognise it as a tool that oppresses women, poses a national security risk, encourages radical islam and threatens social cohesion. If these hypocrites don’t want me to wear a burqa, they can always support my ban.”
The chamber resumed shortly before 6pm without her present. The last time the Senate was forced to shut down due to a senator’s conduct was early last year.
Independent senator Fatima Payman said the display showed contempt for the institution and for the public. She described Hanson’s conduct as “abhorrent and disrespectful to the chamber and the public”. Speaking to ABC Radio, she said, “For her to wear the burka, walk in, and just not listen to the procedures or the ruling that was given before her is typical of her trying to stay relevant. The fact that this is the last week of sitting for 2025 and the Senate is suspended … where are the priorities of the government and Pauline Hanson?”
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the stunt was steeped in racism and intended to inflame. “What happened today was nothing short of blatant racism and Islamophobia,” she said. She noted the echo of 2017, when Hanson wore similar clothing in the chamber. “Back then, there were no Muslim women in the Senate. Well, we are here now and we are not letting this disgusting hate slide.”
Faruqi argued the move followed a pattern. “Straight from rubbing shoulders with fascists, billionaires and the far right in the US, Senator Hansen and One Nation have decided to spin their wheel of racist hate and bring back the ban the burka bill to again pour this toxicity onto Muslims. The parliament should not have a bar of it.”
She said the gesture came at a time when many Australians were struggling. “People in this country are really struggling in cost of living crisis. One Nation offers no solutions. They just exploit people’s anxieties about the future. They offer old culture wars and hollow publicity stunts that punch down on some of the most targeted communities in this country.”
Her criticism widened into a defence of those she said were being targeted for political gain. “Muslim women and communities of colour are not political targets. We are not costumes. We are not scapegoats. We live here. This is our home. And we will not sit quietly while our dignity is trampled for headlines.”
The spectacle marked Hanson’s second use of the garment in the chamber, nearly a decade after her first appearance in 2017 during a similar push to ban the burka. The latest incident proved equally combustible, cutting into the final week’s legislative agenda and leaving senators from multiple parties trying to steady a chamber that had been forced into an abrupt and unexpected pause.
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