Overview
- Following the Senate’s rejection of her proposal to ban full-face veils, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson entered the chamber wearing a burka as a protest.
- The sitting was halted when Hanson refused to remove the face covering, according to reporting attributed to Reuters.
- The Senate barred Hanson for seven sitting days, with some outlets citing agency reports that the exclusion effectively runs until Parliament returns in February 2026.
- Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi and independent senator Fatima Payman denounced the act as racist and shameful, while community organizations issued similar criticism.
- Hanson defended the stunt on Facebook, writing, “If they don’t want me to wear it — ban the burka,” and coverage noted her similar 2017 burka appearance and long history of anti-immigration rhetoric.