Coalition backs Pauline Hanson's 'It's OK to be white' motion

Pauline Hanson lost a motion in the Senate on 'It's Ok to be white'.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

An "It's OK to be white" motion from One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson was supported by Coalition senators with former cabinet minister Eric Abetz saying he was comfortable with his decision, although he conceded the motion was not as "elegantly written as it could have been".

Ms Hanson, best known for her views against various minority groups over time including indigenous Australians, Asians and most recently Muslims, put forward the motion to the Senate on Monday.

The motion proposed that the Senate acknowledge “the deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilisation” and that “it is okay to be white”.

"There has been a rise in anti-white racism and a rise in attacks on the very ideals of Western civilisation," Senator Hanson told the upper chamber. She did not provide or cite any data to back her claims.

Senator Hanson's motion was narrowly defeated 31 votes against to 28 in favour, after Coalition senators voted in line with Senators Fraser Anning (Katter's Australian Party) and Cory Bernardi (Conservative Party).

The motion was condemned by Independent Senator Derryn Hinch who labelled it "obscene" and Greens leader Richard Di Natale who said the "It's OK to be white" slogan had "a long history in the white supremacist movement".

Senator Eric Abetz.Credit: AAP

But Senator Abetz told Fairfax Media that he was comfortable with supporting the motion.

"While the motion wasn’t as elegantly written as it could have been, this crazy notion that people of Anglo-Saxon descent can’t be discriminated against because of their skin colour but others can is just strange," he said.

"Just as I have always condemned racism across the board, I was equally comfortable voting today to condemn racism against white people – noting that the motion did not denigrate anyone else.

"Throughout the world, Western values have delivered the best societal outcomes, removed millions from poverty and prevented war and conflict and those Senators who voted against this motion must explain why they don’t back those values and denigrate their own heritage," he said.

Among those who voted in support was the parliament's first African senator, the South Australian Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi. Senator Gichuhi, who has recently complained of being bullied by male Liberals, did not respond to Fairfax Media's request for comment about why she voted in favour of the motion.

The Attorney-General Christian Porter said on Twitter a short time later: "The government Senators’ actions in the Senate this afternoon confirm that the government deplores racism of any kind."

The government's leader in the Senate Mathias Cormann added: "The government indeed deplores racism of any kind."

The Attorney-General did not respond to Fairfax Media's request for comment.