Pauline Hanson demands apology from Lidia Thorpe over comments on Today show
Pauline Hanson’s legal team has demanded apologies from Lidia Thorpe and Channel 9 host Karl Stefanovic over the senator’s claim that the One Nation leader had been ‘convicted of racism’.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has demanded an apology from independent senator Lidia Thorpe and Channel 9 for an interview on Thursday.
Senator Hanson shared the letters from Gillis Delaney lawyers to her social media account addressed to Senator Thorpe and Channel 9, which alleged she had been defamed.
— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) November 28, 2024
At the centre of the claim was Senator Thorpe’s assertion Senator Hanson had been “convicted of racism”.
“A conviction means being found guilty of a criminal offence, on the criminal standard of proof and being liable for criminal penalties,” the letter read.
“That has never occurred. No such criminal offence was raised against our client and no such conviction exists.”
Senator Thorpe made similar allegations on the Senate floor on Wednesday – under parliamentary privilege – when she tore up paper and threw the pieces at Senator Hanson who was questioning the citizenship eligibility of Fatima Payman.
“It is highly irresponsible of you to have used this language on national television,” the letter read.
“It cannot have occurred innocently given how self-evidently false your claim is.
“We require you to immediately and publicly withdraw the allegation that our client stands convicted of a criminal offence and to apologise to her for your inappropriate conduct.”
The letter to Channel 9 demanded an apology be made on its morning breakfast show Today, and that host Karl Stefanovic makes the apology.
A Channel 9 spokesman on Thursday evening clarified that “Senator Hanson has not been criminally convicted of racism, and any suggestion to the contrary is unequivocally withdrawn”.
Last night, I stood in the Senate to address the serious issues that led to Senator Thorpe’s suspension.
— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) November 28, 2024
I’ve endured constant attempted intimidation and abuse from Senator Thorpe, including being called a “white colonialist†and told to “go back where you came from.â€
Her… pic.twitter.com/lfWMMLVAQ2
Fatima Payman accused of ‘aggression’
Opposition frontbencher Bridget McKenzie has accused Labor-turned-independent senator Fatima Payman of “yelling very aggressively” at Senator Hanson in a Senate altercation on Wednesday, accusing Senator Thorpe of using racism as an “excuse” for her “very, very bad behaviour”.
Senator Hanson on Wednesday sought to question Senator Payman’s citizenship eligibility to be a senator, for which Senator Payman called her a “disgrace on the human race”. Senator Thorpe ripped up pieces of paper and threw them at Senator Hanson, prompting Senator Thorpe’s suspension from the Senate on Thursday. She returned this morning shouting pro-Palestinian slogans and vowing to agitate from outside.
“I think for Senator Thorpe to be so disrespectful of the institution of fellow senators says more about what she thinks about our democracy and the rule of law and her role as an activist disrupter, which, in my mind – having watched the behaviour and her response – is all about tearing down our democratic institutions, rather than behaving in a way within those democratic institutions that upholds the rule of law, freedom of speech and association and all the things that we hold dear in this democracy,” Senator McKenzie told Sky News.
“The fact that she’s running around saying she’s been treated like this because she is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, I said, for me, begs the question, well, should you be treated differently than anyone else just because you’re Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?
“I think that’s the problem here. Everybody is equal under the law. Everyone needs to be treated the same under the law. And I won’t be favouring treating one group of Australians differently to another simply because of their race.”
Senator McKenzie said Senator Payman on Wednesday was “yelling very aggressively directly at Senator Pauline Hanson, not going through the chair, as is respectful debate”.
Thorpe on the offensive again
Senator Thorpe has entered the Senate press gallery to shout pro-Palestine slogans a day after she was suspended and her interruption could be heard over the Senate microphones.
“Free, free Palestine – from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Senator Thorpe also took part in protests on the lawns in front of Parliament House on Thursday.
Earlier, Senator Thorpe said she did not regret ripping up paper and throwing paper at One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on Wednesday, for which Senator Thorpe was suspended from the chamber for the week and vowed to “continue to disrupt” until racism is “taken seriously”.
She said Senator Hanson’s move to question the citizenship eligibility of Labor-turned-independent senator Fatima Payman was an “act of racism”.
“She constantly is, across the floor, spewing racism and disgusting violence towards us and anybody else who is not white,” Senator Thorpe told ABC TV on Thursday morning.
“I am not one to stand or sit silent and allow this to happen.
“I would do it again.”
She accused Labor and the Coalition – after they brought, and voted for the suspension motion – of “uphold(ing) this colonial violence that continues to be perpetrated against black and brown people.
“It seems like there’s one rule for white people who get away with racism and there’s one rule for us when we call that out, we’re the ones that are the naughty little black girl again,” she said.
“This suspension actually allows me to hang out with the people and go protest on the lawns, and it makes it very difficult for the government to pass legislation because they needed my vote.
“I hope they have a good day in the Senate and they may not be able to pass the legislation that needs to be passed today because they suspended me from participating, and they suspended me for standing up to a racist.”
Senator Thorpe has also broadcast her intent with a protest schedule on X.
Joining our Genocide Bill protest or watching online? Here is the run sheet for the day!
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) November 26, 2024
📠Colonial HQ, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
🕠This Thursday 28th, 9AM.
ðŸ–¥ï¸ For those joining us online, head to the link in my bio to access the livestream. pic.twitter.com/B0C9h98IRp
Another offensive outburst
Senator Thorpe has been suspended for the remainder of the sitting week after Labor and the Coalition voted to take disciplinary action against the outspoken upper house member following another offensive outburst in the Senate chamber.
Labor Senate leader Penny Wong moved the motion to suspend Senator Thorpe late on Wednesday after the former-Greens senator ripped up papers and threw them before marching out of the chamber with her middle finger raised.
The latest in a series of profane protests by Senator Thorpe was sparked after Senator Hanson sought to table papers which she claimed questioned former Labor senator Payman’s eligibility to sit in parliament due to her citizenship.
After Senator Hanson demanded Senator Payman withdraw her accusation of racism, Senator Thorpe accused the One Nation Senator of being a “convicted racist” before tearing up the motion and making the offensive gesture as she stormed out of the Senate.
Senator Wong said the Victorian independent had a history of making “inappropriate, sometimes abusive comments” towards other senators and disrupting proceedings, declaring that all Australians had the right to be “safe at work” including in parliament.
“This fortnight alone, the senator has been censured by the Senate, sworn in the chamber, repeatedly made offensive gestures when leaving the chamber and made comments, resulting in First Nation senators from across this chamber feeling culturally unsafe,” Senator Wong said.
“And all of that was prior to today’s incident, which culminated in Senator Thorpe tearing up papers and throwing them at another senator on the Senate floor.
“This behaviour would not be tolerated in any workplace.”
The motion, which came a week after Senator Thorpe was censured by the Senate for protesting King Charles’ visit to Australia by yelling “you are not my King” and “f..k the colony”, was backed by the majority of senators with 46 voting in support and 11 against. Senator Thorpe was not present in the chamber for the disciplinary action on Wednesday night.
Senate president Sue Lines said Senator Thorpe’s conduct was “not acceptable” and she had met with Labor, the Coalition and the Greens about the appropriate disciplinary action to take.
“Senators must conduct themselves in an orderly fashion, and that physically threatening behaviour will not be tolerated,” Senator Lines said.
Former Greens senator Richard Di Natale was the last senator to be suspended in November 2018, after he refused to withdraw his description of Liberal senator Barry O’Sullivan as “a pig” and accused him of throwing “sexist filth” at colleagues.
Opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham said it was time to “draw a line in the sand” over Senator Thorpe’s conduct, criticising the Greens for voting against the motion to suspend her.
“There are standards this chamber will uphold, and those standards should be reflective of what any other workplace would expect,” he said.
“It is a special privilege to stand in this place as a senator, and we get special privileges from standing in this place as a senator, and we should respect those privileges and show respect to one another when we exercise those privileges.”
Senator Thorpe has a history of clashing with Senator Hanson, who recently lost a legal battle with Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi after the court found the One Nation senator had engaged in racial discrimination.
In her short parliamentary career, Senator Thorpe has generated significant controversy. In 2022, she was forced to resign as Greens deputy after she failed to declare her relationship with former bikie Dean Martin.
She later quit the left-wing minor party in early 2023 in opposition to the Greens’ position in support of the failed voice referendum. Just weeks later she lay in front of a float at the annual Sydney Mardi Gras parade.
Last year, Senator Thorpe was also involved in an altercation at a Melbourne nightclub and in a separate incident was knocked to the ground by police at a rally at an anti-trans rally outside Parliament House.
Senator Thorpe’s suspension threatens to hamper Labor’s last ditch effort to pass a series of laws through the Senate during what is the final sitting week of the year and, potentially, the parliamentary term.
To pass legislation through the upper house, Labor requires the support of the Greens and at least three Senate crossbenchers.
That means Senator Thorpe’s vote could prove crucial to reforms the Coalition opposes including the enabling legislation for its Future Made in Australia, and its Build to Rent housing bill.
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