One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson is being sued for racial discrimination in the Federal Court by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, over a twitter fight the pair had when Queen Elizabeth died in 2022.

Council of the City of Sydney

Pauline Hanson, a prominent Australian political figure, is currently facing trial in the federal court under the Racial Discrimination Act. The legal proceedings were initiated by Green Senator Maureen Faruqi. The lawsuit centers on Hanson’s controversial remarks wherein she described Islam as a disease, clarifying that her comments were in the context of terrorist activities globally, which she believes are propelled by an ideology that clashes with Australian values.

The trigger for the court case was a social media altercation following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. After Senator Faruqi expressed her inability to mourn the passing of the monarch, citing the historical impact of the British Empire, Hanson responded with a tweet telling Faruqi to "pack her bags and piss off back to Pakistan." Additionally, during the trial, Hanson reaffirmed her call for a ban on Muslim immigration to Australia, stating that it reflects her personal stance rather than the official policy of the One Nation party she leads.

Hanson's defense posits that her tweet directed at Senator Faruqi falls within the bounds of public debate and is therefore legally protected. The court case aims to address a fundamental question: whether instructing a migrant to return to their country of origin constitutes racially discriminative language that is prohibited by law.

Expert testimonies were presented during the trial, highlighting the impact of Hanson’s statements. Professor Yin Paradis characterized Hanson's tweet as a potent form of racism that questions the belonging and acceptance of migrants in Australia. Psychologist Kate Reynolds emphasized that the influence of such statements is magnified by Hanson's public stature, potentially causing harm not only to the direct recipient but also to the broader community of Muslim women.



Greens Senator sues One Nation’s Pauline Hanson over racism

Pauline Hanson is on trial in the federal court under the Racial Discrimination Act. The case has been brought by Green Senator Maureen Faruqi. Pauline Hanson stood by her previous comments that Islam is a disease, saying the context is terrorist acts, not only in Australia, but around the world, fuelled by an ideology that is incompatible with our way of life. The court case was sparked by an exchange on Twitter after the death of the Queen, when Senator Faruqi tweeted she could not mourn a woman who had led an empire built on stolen lives. Senator Hanson tweeted back that Senator Faruqi should pack her bags and piss off back to Pakistan. Shown video in which she called for a ban on Muslim immigration, Senator Hanson told the court, I'm not taking that back, though she said it's my own personal opinion, not official One Nation policy. Senator Hanson will argue her tweet to Senator Faruqi was in good faith as part of public debate and protected under the law. The court will ultimately decide a very simple question. Is it lawful on social media or in any public space to tell a migrant to go back where they came from, or is that racist language forbidden by law? A professor of race relations, Yin Paradis, gave evidence the Hanson tweet was a very strong form of racism. It's very exclusionary. It is very much about who belongs and who doesn't belong. Another expert witness, psychologist Kate Reynolds says the standing of the person making such a statement can exacerbate the harm, not only to the person receiving it, but to anyone from that group of Muslim women. Hugh Rimmington for 10 News First.

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