Pauline Hanson burqa incidents

Pauline Hanson burqa incidents
Part of the campaign for a burqa ban in Australia and far-right politics in Australia
Date17 August 2017 (2017-08-17) and 24 November 2025
VenueAustralian Senate, Canberra
TypePolitical stunt, protest
MotiveParliamentary refusal of her bills to introduce a ban on full-face coverings in Australia
ParticipantsSenator Pauline Hanson
Outcome
  • Asked to leave Senate chamber
  • Hanson censured by the Senate

On separate occasions in 2017 and 2025, Pauline Hanson, a senator for Queensland and leader of One Nation, wore a burqa into the chamber of the Australian Senate as a form of protest over that chamber's refusal to consider a ban on full-face coverings throughout Australia. Hanson, a prominent conservative political figure in Australia, has long supported a ban on full-face coverings, including the Islamic burqa and niqab, citing threats to Australian national security. In both incidents, she was widely condemned by the senate, and in 2025 was censured. Despite widespread condemnation, former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce expressed his support, as did senator Ralph Babet.