The Senate has formally censured Pauline Hanson over her remarks about Australian Muslims.
The motion, moved by Labor Senate Leader Penny Wong passed 36 votes to 17, in response to Hanson misspeaking on Sky News Australia last month where she said there were no “good” Muslims.
According to the Parliament’s website, a Senate censure carries no direct legal or constitutional consequence, and is used as a strong expression of disapproval.
This is not the first time Hanson has faced disciplinary action in the chamber.
Wong: Australians Expect Better
Introducing the motion, Wong said Australians expect their elected representatives “to set the standard for our country and to show basic respect for all Australians.”Senator Wong said to “say there were no good Muslims, is to say there are no good Australians amongst them, is to tell a child no matter how hard they study, they how kindly they treat others, how much they love this country, they will never belong.”
“Nearly a million Australians practice Islam,” Wong said. “They are doctors, nurses, tradies, teachers, small business owners, firefighters, police officers and veterans.”
Coalition Senate leader Michaelia Cash said the opposition would support symbolic elements of the motion promoting respectful debate but would not endorse the formal rebuke itself.
Cash said censures are among the Senate’s most serious disciplinary tools and should be reserved for grave breaches of parliamentary standards, not “used as a routine tactic to score political points.”
She added the Coalition “firmly believe that Australians of every race, of every religion and of every background, belong in this country.”
“I don’t think that Senator Hanson’s comments were appropriate. Why? Because I personally have Muslim friends. My mum’s best friend is a Muslim. So I have to say, I think that there are good Muslims in Australia,” Cash said.
“I’ve got no time for the radical Islam, their religion concerns me because what it says in the Quran,” she said.
“They hate Westerners, and that’s what it’s all about. You say, ‘Oh well, there’s good Muslims out there.’ I’m sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims if jihad is ever called, and people must understand this, and go and research this.”
Hanson Says Senate Working Off Misreported Quotes
Hanson dismissed the motion calling it a political stunt.“The people out there are sick of this ... you can’t stand that One Nation is on 27 percent, 28 percent [in opinion polls].”
She told the chamber her comments had been misrepresented.
“Senator Wong said in her speech, I agree with most of it. I really do, except one thing, you got it wrong with my comments.”
“Do you really even know what I said, because its been misreported a lot by the media?”
Hanson reiterated that a previous candidate was a Muslim woman.
‘Not Enough’ Says Greens Senator
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi supported the censure but criticised the motion as insufficient.“Pauline Hanson is a racist. She has always been a racist,” Faruqi said. She was asked to withdraw her comments.
Faruqi noted the motion did not explicitly mention Islamophobia.
“That’s how much you care about an anti-Muslim hate ... What we are seeing here today is the predictable outcome of years of escalating hostility towards Muslims,” she added.
