Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I was elected as a senator for our great country earlier this year, I was honoured to represent Australians in the chamber. Yesterday I witnessed our Senate censure, gag and suspend our leader, Senator Hanson, for seven days. Senator Hanson was denied the introduction of a bill, the Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of the Burqa and Other Full Face Coverings in Public Places) Bill 2025, in the Senate. The bill bans the wearing of a burqa in a public place in Australia.

In a move of absolute hypocrisy, the Senate decided that Senator Hanson would be denied her right to speak to the bill—in effect, stopping debate and gagging Senator Hanson. To bring attention to this complete and utter hypocrisy, Senator Hanson wore the burqa into the chamber. The Senate descended into chaos and suspended proceedings. Senator Hanson was again denied her right to speak when she was named for wearing the burqa.

The Senate today decided that Senator Hanson would be suspended for seven days, denying her the right to represent the people of Australia—the people she was elected to represent. The leader of One Nation was denied her right to hold this government to account. It is apparent that freedom of speech does not apply in this chamber. If you think—

Really? Yes. If you think we have problems with our current government, well, just imagine for a moment how bad they would be without Senator Hanson, my colleagues Senator Roberts and Senator Bell and me to question the governance of Australian people.

Consider for a minute how the rules of the Senate are being applied by the Senate. Senator Faruqi was wearing a keffiyeh in the Senate the same morning, yesterday morning. The keffiyeh has a history of being an internationally recognised insignia and symbol of racist and violent jihad that openly calls for the murder and genocide of an entire demographic of people based on their religious beliefs. I would bring to the attention the President the state of this chamber yesterday morning. Given the violent, genocidal significance of this keffiyeh, Senator Faruqi was wearing this very symbol of hatred in her own stunt to bring political props into the Senate.