Pauline Hanson threatens Lidia Thorpe with defamation over ‘racism’ remark

Pauline Hanson’s stoush with Lidia Thorpe has escalated with the One National leader now threatening legal action against the rogue senator.

Pauline Hanson is threatening defamation action against Lidia Thorpe after the rogue Senator said the One Nation leader had been “convicted of racism” in an escalating row between the two controversial figures.

Ms Thorpe defied her suspension from the Senate on Thursday by barging into a viewing gallery to yell pro-Palestine slogans at her colleagues, after vowing to continue to disrupt parliament and saying she had no regrets about the outlandish behaviour that prompted her ban.

The clash about racism and citizenship ramped up when Ms Hanson published a legal letter demanding Ms Thorpe “immediately and publicly withdraw” the allegation and “apologise” for claiming the One Nation leader was “convicted of racism”.

Pauline Hanson and Lidia Thorpe exchange words at Parliament House. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Last month the Federal Court found Ms Hanson racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi through a tweet telling the Greens Senator to “piss off back to Pakistan”.

Ms Hanson, who is appealing the ruling, has disputed Ms Thorpe’s characterisation of the result as there was no “conviction” of a “criminal offence”.

Ms Thorpe made the remarks in an interview with Nine’s Today on Thursday morning amid the intensifying stoush sparked by Ms Hanson pursuing independent Senator Fatima Payman over her eligibility to sit in parliament due to technically retaining Afghan citizenship.

In the legal letter, Ms Hanson has also demanded Nine “publicly withdraw the allegation” and asked that Today host Karl Stefanovic deliver an apology for the network airing Ms Thorpe’s “false claim”.

On Wednesday evening Labor and the Coalition backed a motion to suspend Ms Thorpe from the Senate for a day in response to her “inappropriate” and “abusive” behaviour in the chamber.

Pauline Hanson is threatening Lidia Thorpe with defamation.

Lidia Thorpe said the One Nation leader had been ‘convicted of racism’. Picture: NewsWire / David Beach

That morning Ms Thorpe had torn up papers and threw them at Ms Hanson during a heated debate about Ms Payman’s citizenship, before storming out of the chamber flipping her middle finger.

But Ms Thorpe returned on Thursday, entering the press gallery section of the Senate, which is restricted for media only, and yelling “free, free Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

Earlier that morning Ms Thorpe could be heard yelling outside the Senate as members inside debated whether her private members’ bill would be tabled.

Senate President Sue Lines responded by asking staff to “shut the doors please”.

Speaking out the front of parliament where she attended a First Nations protest, Ms Thorpe said her suspension from the Senate was “the best day off I’ve ever had”.

“(Labor) certainly got wedged by suspending me while I’m out, you know, enjoying the sunshine and good company. They’re losing out on passing legislation,” she said. “Poor fool them.”

Ms Thorpe told the protesters, “we want our land back, we want our babies back, and we do want the King to just f**k off”.

Originally published as Pauline Hanson threatens Lidia Thorpe with defamation over ‘racism’ remark