Mehreen Faruqi disciplined by the Senate for pro-Palestine protest

Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi has been disciplined by the Senate for brandishing a sign demanding that Labor sanction Israel.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi holds up a pro-Palestine sign during the Governor-General’s address to the Senate for the opening of the 48th parliament at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

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Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi has been disciplined by the Senate for brandishing a sign demanding Labor sanction Israel during the opening of parliament by the Governor-General, with the NSW senator to be prohibited from representing the upper house as part of any delegation during the rest of the term.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong moved the motion, supported by the Coalition and a handful of crossbenchers, which expressed “profound disapproval of Senator Faruqi’s disrespectful protest” on Tuesday.

“The senator has many other avenues to express her views,” the motion stated. “The actions by Senator Faruqi to use a prop, knowing this to be a breach of the standing orders, drew the ­Governor-General and Chief Justice into political debate which is highly inappropriate and undermines our democratic system.”

Senator Wong declared the Greens political party didn’t “want to listen to Australians” but rather “lecture” constituents, accusing Senator Faruqi of seeking to make parliament “about her”.

The motion was passed 50 votes to 11, with the Greens and crossbenchers like Fatima Payman voting against it.

Senate president Sue Lines, who was re-elected to her position, slammed Senator Faruqi’s behaviour as “utterly disrespectful”.

“Senator Faruqi, you are a champion in this chamber for respectful debate and behaviour,” she said.

”Your actions during the ­Governor-General’s address were utterly disrespectful and showed a complete disregard for the rules, traditions and customs of this place.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi at the stop Iran war protest at Hyde Park, Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Senator Faruqi urged the Senate to “reflect on your silence, complicity and even enabling a genocide”.

“That is what degrades this place,” she told the upper house.

Following the passing of the motion, Anthony Albanese made a swipe at Senator Faruqi by declaring “when you are elected to parliament, you have a responsibility to act like an adult”.

Senator Faruqi accused the two parties of being “focused on cracking down on black and brown women in this parliament”, alleging there had been clear hypocrisy in failing to condemn One Nation senators on Tuesday for turning their back during an acknowledgement to country.

The stoush over the Greens’ stance on the Middle East comes as the party was criticised from within its own ranks over its failure to condemn the Iranian regime as it had the Israeli government.

Greens activist and Iranian-born Sydney councillor Tina Kordrostami, who quit the minor party in June, revealed in The Australian her discomfort with the “opportunism” of the Greens political movement after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Greens MPs defended their position in parliament this week, with Victorian senator Steph ­Hodgins-May declaring the party condemned all abuses of human rights. “We condemn human rights abuses wherever they happen, whether it be Israel, whether it be Iran, whether it be the US,” she said.

When asked on Tuesday whether she would specifically condemn the Iranian regime, Senator Hodgins-May repeated “when human rights abuses are occurring, of course we condemn those actions”.