Australia’s Senate was thrown into chaos on Monday after far-right senator Pauline Hanson entered the chamber wearing a burqa, prompting outrage and forcing a rare suspension of proceedings for more than an hour.
Hanson, leader of One Nation and a long-time advocate of banning the burqa, was ordered to remove the covering but refused. She was ultimately barred from the chamber for the remainder of the day.
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A Muslim community advocate condemned the spectacle, saying the stunt “weaponised a sacred symbol to score political points at the expense of an already targeted minority,” and warning that such displays embolden hostility toward visibly Muslim women.
Hanson’s actions were quickly denounced across party lines and drew comparisons to a similar stunt she performed in 2017.
The disruption triggered a procedural standoff that delayed the final sitting week of the year, ABC News reported.
Senate president Sue Lines instructed Hanson to leave, but when she refused, Lines suspended the session — an extraordinary step used only in exceptional circumstances. The Senate reconvened around 5:50 p.m. without Hanson present.
On social media, Hanson accused fellow senators of hypocrisy for shutting down her attempt to introduce a bill.
She claimed she donned the burqa to highlight what she called security concerns and the mistreatment of women, despite being unable to cite a single safety incident connected to the garment.
“If the parliament won’t ban it, I will display this oppressive, radical, non-religious head garb that risks our national security and the ill treatment of women on the floor of our parliament so that every Australian knows what’s at stake,” she wrote.
Muslim Outrage
Independent senator Fatima Payman, the first hijab-wearing woman in Australia’s federal parliament, condemned the display as “abhorrent and disrespectful to the chamber and the public.”
“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,” she told ABC Radio.
“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?”
“This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism,” added Mehreen Faruqi, a Muslim senator from New South Wales.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, who has not ruled out aligning with One Nation, said MPs were free to make political statements so long as they avoided violence but declined to comment on Hanson’s sanction.
Earlier in the day, Islamophobia envoy Aftab Malik rejected Hanson’s security claims as “frustrating” and harmful, saying they risked further endangering Muslim women.
“This will deepen existing safety risks for Australian Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf, the hijab, or the full face and body covering, the burka,” he said.
“They already face harassment, threats of rape, and violence, not because what they have done, but because of what they wear. All women should be free to choose what they wear or do not wear.”
Hanson previously wore a burqa in the Senate in 2017 during an earlier push for a national ban.