Pauline Hanson condemned by Senate as she doubles down on inflammatory language

Pauline Hanson doubled down on inflammatory remarks she made about a Pakistan-born senator during a debate on racism.

Pauline Hanson has been condemned by parliament for telling another Senator she should “p*** off back to Pakistan” on social media.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi – who is the deputy Greens leader – told the chamber she and her family had received racist abuse following Senator Hanson’s response to her own comments about the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The Pakistan-born senator offered her condolences but wrote she couldn’t “mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples”.

In a passionate address to the Senate on Tuesday, Senator Faruqi said she had a right to talk about the issue “without being racially vilified”.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi called out the abuse on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senators Penny Wong and Simon Birmingham co-sponsored an amendment to the motion, which removed the offensive language and removed the censure of Senator Hanson specifically.

Instead, it called on senators to “engage in debates and commentary respectfully, and to refrain from inflammatory and divisive comments, both inside and outside the chamber at all times”.

Senator Hanson, who smiled and scoffed throughout Senator Faruqi’s address, refused to retract her comments.

Instead, she doubled down on her attack, offering to take the Greens senator to the airport herself.

The response elicited immediate outrage from the Senate, with one senator declaring the One Nation leader was a “scumbag”.

Pauline Hanson has refused to back down on her comments. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Earlier, Senator Hanson claimed she wasn’t a racist and suggested the Greens’ motion was an example of “reverse racism”.

“I have always fought for equality for all Australians, regardless of race … at the last election, second on the ticket to me in Queensland was a Gentleman from India,” she said.

“If I was a racist I wouldn’t have people from different cultural backgrounds (running for One Nation).”

Senator Wong called her comments “appalling” and likened them to schoolyard bullying.

Meanwhile, opposition Senate leader Birmingham called for parliamentarians to rise above social media.

“My advice to senators of all stripes: stay out of the gutter, rise above the Twitterverse. Play the ball, not the person.”