Pauline Hanson has argued in federal court that her tweet telling Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi to 'pack her bags and piss off back to Pakistan' was not racist. The One Nation leader is being sued by Faruqi for $150,000 under the Racial Discrimination Act.
Faruqi's barrister, Jessie Taylor, told the court that the phrase 'piss off back to Pakistan' was a variant of 'go back to where you came from', which has a 'rich and harmful history as a racist epithet'. Taylor argued the tweet was insulting and offensive not only to Faruqi but to people of colour and migrants.
Hanson's barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, denied the tweet was based on race, colour, or ethnic origin. She said the case involved the implied constitutional freedom of political communication and could be elevated to the High Court. Chrysanthou also questioned whether expert evidence on the phrase's racist nature was necessary.
The tweet was sent in response to Faruqi's comments about Queen Elizabeth II's death, where she said she could not mourn the leader of a 'racist empire'. The matter will return to court on 29 June, with pleadings due from both parties by mid-June.
