Australia’s One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson was suspended for seven days in the Senate after she entered the chamber wearing an all-black burqa, reigniting a decades-old national debate over facial coverings, security and religious freedom.
In a dramatic incident on Monday, November 24, a Queensland senator hid his identity under his clothes before revealing himself during question period. Mr Hanson described the act as a protest against the Senate’s refusal to consider a private member’s bill to ban the burqa and niqab in public places.
what happened in the chamber
Mr. Hanson entered the Senate chamber wearing a burqa shortly after 2 p.m. and took his seat in silence for several minutes. After being allowed to speak, she removed her clothes and declared: “If Parliament doesn’t ban the burqa, I’m going to show Australia exactly what’s at stake.” The chamber was adjourned for 90 minutes while Senate President Sue Lines discussed procedural rules.
On Tuesday, November 25, the Senate voted 55-5 to censure and suspend Sen. Hanson until February 2026. This is the fifth suspension in Australian history.
Hanson defends the move as a ‘legitimate protest’
Outside parliament, Senator Hanson claimed the stunt was necessary to highlight the “real security risks” and “oppression of women” under Islam’s strict dress code.
“Sixteen Muslim-majority countries have already restricted or banned the burqa,” she said. “Australia is one of the few Western countries that still allows people to completely cover their faces in public. I speak for the vast majority of people who are afraid to say that.”
A recent Resolve and Newspoll poll found One Nation’s primary vote was between 12 and 20 per cent nationally, the highest level in decades.
Widespread condemnation across political lines
Labor Senate leader Penny Wong called the move a “hateful showdown that tears at the fabric of society”, while independent Muslim senator Fatima Peiman criticized it as “abhorrent” and disrespectful to Australia’s almost one million Muslims. Even some conservative figures kept their distance. Nationals senator Matt Canavan said the actions had “degraded the integrity of Parliament”, while former Liberal MP John Kennedy said Mr Hanson represented “the worst of us”.
A polarized nation reacts
The public’s reactions are widely divided. Supporters praised Hanson on social media, calling her “the only one with courage,” while critics accused her of Islamophobia and cheap political theater. As Parliament sits this year, the incident ensures that Senator Hanson, like it or not, will remain one of the most talked about figures in Australian politics into 2026.
