An Australian senator has provoked anger over the wearing of the burqa in Parliament, after calling for a ban on Muslim clothing.
Pauline Hanson was condemned by her fellow senators, with one accusing her of “blatant racism”. Proceedings before the Senate were halted as she refused to withdraw the article.
The Queensland senator, from the anti-immigration One Nation party, was seeking to introduce a bill banning the wearing of full-face masks in public – a policy she has long campaigned for.
This is the second time she has worn the garment – which covers the face and body – in Parliament, and said her actions were to protest 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.
“He is a racist senator, blatantly racist,” said New South Wales Greens Muslim senator Mehreen Faruqi.
Fatima Payman, an independent Western Australian state senator, called the stunt “shameful”.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is government leader in the Senate, condemned it as “disrespectful”.
“We represent people of all faiths, all faiths and all walks of life in our states. And we must do it decently,” she said.
She added that Hanson was “not fit to be a member of the Australian Senate” 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 previously wore a burqa to Parliament in 2017, also calling for a national ban at the time.
In 2016, Hanson was criticized for her first speech to the Australian Senate, in which she said the country was “overwhelmed by Muslims”.
This echoes her controversial 1996 speech, in which she warned that the country risked being “overwhelmed by Asians”.
