Pauline Hanson rebuked over Senate burqa stunt

CANBERRA — Australian far-right Senator Pauline Hanson wore a burqa to Parliament yesterday as part of her campaign to ban the all-enveloping garment worn by some Muslim women, drawing a quick rebuke from the government and Muslims.

Ms Hanson sat in her seat in the assembly for about 20 minutes covered by the black burqa before removing it to call for them to be banned in public for national security reasons.

“I’m quite happy to remove this because this is not what should belong in this Parliament,” Ms Hanson, who leads the far-right One Nation party, told the Senate.

“If a person who wears a balaclava or a helmet into a bank or any other building, or even on the floor of the court, they must be removed. Why is it not the same case for someone who is covering up their face and cannot be identified?”

Ms Hanson, who first rose to prominence in the 1990s because of her strident opposition to immigration from Asia and to asylum seekers, has in recent years campaigned against Islamic clothing and the building of mosques.

Her party has four senators, which gives it influence in Parliament when closely contested legislation is being voted on.

Attorney-General George Brandis rebuked Ms Hanson for her action.

“I am not going to pretend to ignore the stunt that you have tried to pull today by arriving in the chamber dressed in a burqa,” he said, drawing applause from members of the Senate.

“We all know that you are not an adherent of the Islamic faith. I would caution and counsel you with respect to be very, very careful of the offence you may do to the religious sensibilities of other Australians.”

Opposition Senate leader Penny Wong told Ms Hanson: “It is one thing to wear religious dress as a sincere act of faith; it is another to wear it as a stunt here in the Senate.”

Mr Sam Dastyari, an opposition Senator and an Iranian-born Muslim, said: “We have seen the stunt of all stunts in this chamber by Senator Hanson.

“The close to 500,000 Muslim Australians do not deserve to be targeted, do not deserve to be marginalised, do not deserve to be ridiculed, do not deserve to have their faith made some political point by the desperate leader of a desperate political party,” added Mr Dastyari.

Senate President Stephen Parry said Ms Hanson’s identity had been confirmed before she entered the chamber. He also said he would not dictate the standards of dress for the chamber. AGENCIES