Pauline Hanson transforms herself in freaky ‘fancy dress’

Pauline Hanson, leader of the rightwing One Nation party in Australia, sat wearing the black garment for more than ten minutes today.

A right-wing and conservative Australian senator wore a burqa in Parliament as part of a campaign to ban Islamic face coverings around the country.

The display was met with an emotional rebuke by Australian Attorney General George Brandis, who received a rare standing ovation from several of his colleagues in the Senate after admonishing Hanson.

“There has been 13 foiled national threats against us with terrorism, three that have been successful, and Australians have lost their lives”.

A microphone in the chamber picked up one senator’s stunned “What on earth?”, while others merely rolled their eyes.

According to a Pew Research Center poll released in February, around half of Australian surveyed said that sharing the customs and traditions of the country is very important to anyone to be considered “truly” Australian.

Sam Dastyari, a Labor MP, said in a tweet that Ms Hanson was a “disgrace” and the Senate had become a “circus”.

“It is very disappointing, but not surprising as she has sought to mock the Islamic faith time and time again”, he said.

“What I have done today is an open up debate, and what Senator Brandis did today was just shut it down”, Hanson said.

She claimed that “the Muslim vote” determined the electoral outcomes in up to 15 lower house seats, before accusing Labor of “pandering to the Muslim vote”.

Andrew Meares Senator Pauline Hanson wears a burqa during question time at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday 17 August 2017.

Hanson left the Senate chamber after posing her question to the attorney general.

Mr Pyne reminded Senator Hanson she was meant to be a leader in the community.

“People are confronted by people wearing the burqa”, Hanson said.

Hanson, who is vocally anti-Muslim and anti-immigration, warned in her inaugural speech for her second stint in the Senate in 2016 that “We are now in danger of being swamped by Muslims whose culture is incompatible with our own”. And the vast majority of them are law abiding good Australians.

“I don’t agree with stunts by politicians”.

Ms. Hanson has courted controversy ever since she was elected to parliament in 1996.

Hanson fired back, saying she wasn’t trying to mock Muslims.