Australia senator condemned for burka stunt in parliament

An Australian senator has sparked outrage for wearing a burqa in Parliament, after she pushed for a ban on Islamic clothing.

Pauline Hanson was condemned by her fellow senators, with one accusing her of “blatant racism”. Proceedings were halted in the Senate because it refused to remove the item.

The Queensland senator, who belongs to the anti-immigration One Nation party, was seeking to introduce a bill that would ban full face coverings in public places – a policy she has long called for.

This is the second time she has worn the garment – which covers the face and body – in Parliament, and she said her actions were a protest against the Senate’s rejection of her bill.

Shortly after other lawmakers blocked her from introducing the bill on Monday, she returned wearing a black burqa.

“This is a racist senator, showing blatant racism,” said Mehreen Farooqi, a Muslim Greens senator from New South Wales.

Fatima Byman, an independent senator from Western Australia, described the incident as “disgraceful.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who leads the government in the Senate, condemned the decision as “disrespectful.”

“We represent people of all faiths, of all faiths and of all backgrounds in our states,” she said. “And we have to do it appropriately.”

She added that Hanson “does not deserve to be an Australian senator” and moved a motion to suspend Hanson for failing to remove the garment.

In a Facebook post, Hanson wrote: “If they don’t want me to wear it – ban the burqa.”

She had previously worn the burqa to parliament in 2017, and also called for it to be banned nationally at the time.

In 2016, Hanson She was criticized for her maiden speech to the Australian SenateIn it, she said that the country was “overwhelmed by Muslims.”

It echoed her controversial 1996 speech in which she warned that the country was in danger of being “swamped by Asians.”