Pauline Hanson’s Burqa Stunt: The Day Australia’s Senate Exploded in Chaos
In one of the most dramatic and divisive moments in recent Australian political history, One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson entered the Senate chamber on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, clad head-to-toe in a black burqa, leaving only her eyes visible.
The provocative act, intended as a stunt to push her long-standing demand for a nationwide ban on face coverings, instantly plunged Parliament into turmoil and unleashed a firestorm of condemnation from across the political spectrum.
The 71-year-old firebrand senator has spent years campaigning for a total ban on the burqa and niqab in public places, citing national security and identification concerns.
By wearing the garment into the heart of Australia’s democracy, Hanson claimed she was “proving a point” — demonstrating how easily identity can be concealed beneath such clothing.
The reaction was immediate and ferocious.
As soon as Hanson took her seat, Senate President Sue Lines ordered her to remove the burqa or leave the chamber. Shouts of “Shame!” and “Disrespectful!” erupted from the floor.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young called it “a disgusting attack on Muslim women.” Labor’s Penny Wong described the act as “cruel, calculated and beneath the dignity of this Parliament.” Remarkably, even some who have previously aligned with Hanson on immigration turned against her.
Liberal Senator James Paterson labelled the stunt “counter-productive and unnecessary,” while Nationals leader David Littleproud said it “went too far.”
Outside the chamber, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, interrupting an international virtual summit, issued a blistering statement: “This is not freedom of speech. This is a deliberate act of religious vilification dressed up as political theatre.
Senator Hanson has insulted every Muslim Australian and undermined the values of respect and inclusion that define us.”
Perhaps the most poignant moment came from Australia’s first Muslim senator, Labor’s Fatima Payman. Visibly distraught, the young Afghan-Australian lawmaker stood, tears in her eyes, before walking out of the chamber in protest.
But Hanson refused to back down.
Escorted to the despatch box while still fully veiled, she delivered a defiant 28-second statement that silenced the room: “I will not remove this garment until you admit that anyone — man, woman, terrorist, or criminal — can hide their face, hide weapons, hide bombs under fabric like this and walk freely among us.
If it makes you uncomfortable in here, imagine how millions of Australians feel seeing it on our streets every day.”
With that, she sat down. The Senate was suspended for more than an hour. Security eventually escorted Hanson from the chamber, though she still refused to unveil herself until reaching the press gallery corridor.
The images — a lone figure in full black burqa standing at the Senate podium — exploded across global media within minutes. #HansonBurqa and #BurqaStunt trended number one in Australia for over 24 hours and sparked heated debate worldwide.
Public opinion split sharply down familiar lines.
Supporters, particularly in regional Queensland and among One Nation’s base, praised Hanson for “having the guts to say what others won’t.” Talkback radio lines were flooded with callers claiming she had exposed a genuine security risk.
Small rallies in her defence sprang up outside Parliament House in Canberra and Brisbane, with signs reading “Pauline speaks for us” and “Identify or goodbye.”
Yet the overwhelming response from multicultural communities, progressive groups, and much of the commentariat was one of outrage.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) condemned the stunt as “a cheap publicity grab that demonises Muslim women.” Dozens of hijab-wearing Australian women posted videos online saying they now felt unsafe in public.
Prominent Muslim community leader Dr Jamila Hussain said: “She didn’t wear our clothing to understand us — she wore it to mock us.”
Even some conservative commentators distanced themselves. Sky News host Peta Credlin called it “theatrical nonsense that hurts the very cause she claims to champion,” while The Australian’s editor-at-large Paul Kelly warned that Hanson had “handed her opponents a gift-wrapped weapon.”
By evening, Hanson had released a video from her office — finally without the burqa — doubling down: “I don’t apologise for one second. If wearing that garment for five minutes offends you, try living with the fear that it could be hiding danger every day.”
As the dust settles, the political consequences remain unclear. Labor and the Greens have signalled they may move to censure or even suspend Hanson, though procedural hurdles make expulsion unlikely. The government has ruled out any new burqa-ban legislation in the current term, with Albanese declaring the issue “settled.”
One thing, however, is certain: on 25 November 2025, Pauline Hanson ensured that Australia — whether it wanted to or not — was forced into yet another bitter national conversation about identity, security, and the limits of provocation in a multicultural democracy.
Love her or loathe her, the senator in the burqa made sure the country could not look away.
