Pauline Hanson has been censured by the Australian Senate for the second time in four months, following her remarks questioning the existence of 'good' Muslims. The motion, moved by Labor, passed 36-17 with the backing of the Greens and most crossbenchers, while the Coalition officially opposed it.
Two Liberal moderate senators, Paul Scarr and Andrew McLachlan, crossed the floor to support the censure, which condemned Hanson’s comments as “inflammatory and divisive”. No One Nation senator participated in the final vote. Hanson dismissed the motion as a “joke” and theatrically slapped her wrist before leaving the chamber.
The censure stemmed from an interview where Hanson said: “You say, ‘Well, there’s good Muslims out there.’ How can you tell me there are good Muslims?” She refused to apologise, later issuing a partial apology but reiterating belief in a Muslim push for a world caliphate.
Labor Senate leader Penny Wong read a motion affirming Australia as built by people of every faith and rejecting vilification based on religion. Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi called the motion “performative”, while Coalition senator Michaelia Cash said it should not be used for political point-scoring, despite deeming Hanson’s comments inappropriate.
Police received reports of a “crime” regarding Hanson’s comments, but legal experts noted the high threshold for hate speech prosecutions. The censure followed Hanson’s earlier stunt of wearing a hijab in parliament, for which she was also censured.
