Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am making reference to Senator Brandis, through the chair, in relation to how Australians can believe the government is serious when it says that integration into our society is an important requirement for Australian citizenship when you defend the burqa. The burqa is only seen in communities which want to remain separate from the rest of Australia. Surveys including the Sky News/ReachTEL poll, which was done after I wore the burqa into parliament, show the majority of Australians want the burqa banned and they want it done now. But, Senator Brandis, it seems you believe you know better.

Senator Brandis, if you do not ban the full-face coverings, including the burqa and the niqab, how can a court of Australia truly determine who appears before it? The majority of Australians want civil servants, judges, soldiers and others to show their faces at work and in public. To do otherwise contradicts the neutrality of the state. They also want the burqa banned in any areas where Commonwealth law applies for reasons related to security and social cohesion. We know that Labor depends on the Muslim vote to hold up to 15 lower house seats in the parliament, but it is unclear what motivates you to speak up in favour of the burqa. The Liberals do not hold a single lower house seat where there are 10,000 or more Muslims in an electorate. Senator Brandis, you are being used by Labor. You have a right to a view on my decision to wear the burqa into the Senate, but it is arrogant, incorrect and ill-informed when you presume to speak for most Australians.