Far-right Australian politician dons burqa in parliament - sh.itjust.works

> Sydney (AFP) – A far-right Australian politician sparked outrage Monday after donning a burqa at the country’s parliament, in a display that other lawmakers slammed as “racist”. > Pauline Hanson of the anti-immigration One Nation party was seeking to introduce a bill in the Senate that would ban full face coverings in Australia – a policy she has campaigned on for decades. >Just minutes after other lawmakers blocked her from introducing that bill, she returned wearing a black burqa and sat down. >Her display was meet by outrage from her fellow senators. >Australian Greens leader in the Senate Larissa Waters said the move was “the middle finger to people of faith”. >“It is extremely racist and unsafe,” Waters added. >Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who also serves as leader of the government in the Senate, condemned it as “disrespectful”. >“All of us in this place have a great privilege in coming into this chamber,” Wong said. >“We represent in our states, people of every faith, of every faith, of all backgrounds. And we should do so decently.” >Hanson refused to remove the burqa and the Senate was suspended. >It is the second time she has donned the Muslim clothing in parliament. >In 2017, she wore a full burqa in the Senate to highlight what she said were the security issues the garment posed, linking it to terror. >Hanson has described Islam as “a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own”. >Her party has increased support as the country’s main conservative opposition remain beset by infighting, with a poll this month reported by The Australian Financial Review showing them with a record 18 percent support. >That comes as a government envoy said in September that Australia had failed to tackle persistent and intensifying Islamophobia.