Pauline Hanson fights discrimination ruling in Federal Court
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claims many Australians had the same or “near-identical” views when she breached the Racial Discrimination Act after she told a Greens senator to “piss off back to Pakistan” in an ugly social media clash.
Senator Hanson breached the Racial Discrimination Act when she tweeted Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi in September 2022 on the day Queen Elizabeth II died, Judge Angus Stewart last November found.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.However, just weeks later, Senator Hanson filed a notice to appeal with the Federal Court.
In a hearing on Monday in the Federal Court of Sydney, Senator Hanson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou said both her client and Senator Faruqi were “seasoned politicians” at the time of the clash and commonly used their public platforms to articulate their views.
In the hours following Queen Elizabeth’s death, Senator Faruqi lashed the “racist empire” of the British monarchy following a tweet from Greens Leader Adam Bandt, who said it was time for Australia to become a republic.
Ms Chrysanthou said many Australians were upset about the death of for many the only monarch they had ever known and argued that Senator Faruqi’s tweet was “provocative and was reasonably likely to insight a response”.
She added there was “quite a vigorous response” to the tweet, with many people expressing “outrage” over her stance, with many comments that were overwhelmingly the same or near-identical views as Senator Hanson’s.
However, Justice Geoffrey Kennett interjected and said “if your client had contravened the Act, then she’s contravened the Act”, and whether other people had was not relevant.
Ms Chrysanthou reminded the court that X (formerly Twitter) was a place where people “feel free to express themselves in ways they might not do in person”.
She said Senator Hanson directed the comments to Senator Faruqi and it was not about anyone else, to which Justice Elizabeth Bennett asked “then why not just DM her?”
The tweet was a “public criticism”, Ms Chrysanthou replied.
The hearing, which is estimated to span three days, continues.
Originally published as Pauline Hanson fights discrimination ruling in Federal Court
