Key events
Sarah Basford Canales
The Coalition will release principles for its immigration policy before the end of the year, Sussan Ley told a joint party room meeting this morning.
Off the back of a bruising internal policy battle over net zero and energy policy, the opposition is hoping for a more “constructive”, as one Liberal MP might put it, few weeks to settle its next position.
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, and shadow immigration minister, Paul Scarr, are holding consultations and open door meetings with Coalition members between now and the year’s end to thrash out the stance it sells to the public before the next election (don’t stress, that’s at least two years away).
The deputy opposition leader, Ted O’Brien, told MPs and senators to rest up over the Christmas break, noting the Liberals had spent much of the past six months in the headlines. Perhaps not the headlines the opposition party was hoping for, however.
Pauline Hanson is suspended from the Senate for seven days
After she speaks, Penny Wong gets back up to move a motion to suspend Hanson from the Senate entirely for seven days.
There are just a few voices who object to the suspension, and a division is called, but then quickly cancelled as Hanson stands up and says, “you can cancel that division, the people will judge me at the next election.”
Senate president Sue Lines cancels the division, and after that very intense hour, the chamber moves onto its normal, regularly scheduled programming.
Hanson doubles down on burqa stunt: ‘You dare question me over my respect for this place?’
Hanson doubles down on her stunt yesterday in during the five minutes she has to explain or apologise following the censure motion.
She says the Senate should have allowed her to introduce her bill and debate it, and rejected claims she doesn’t have respect for people of faith.
You denied me and the people of australia to have that voice, you chose to shut that down.
The parliamentarians that are here, you dare question me over my respect for this place? The senators in this place have no respect for the Australian people when they have an elected member who wants to move something and represent them and have a say.
Babet interjects during Wong’s speech and rails against ‘radical Islam’
Josh Butler
We need to go back to an earlier part of the debate, after UAP senator Ralph Babet interjected during Penny Wong’s speech to claim “I hate radical Islam”.
As Krishani brought you earlier, Wong was speaking about Hanson’s burqa stunt, saying:
“After what occurred yesterday, someone I’m close to this morning spoke about a conversation with her seven-year-old daughter last night and her daughter asked, ‘Mummy, do all Christians hate Muslims?’ That summarised where we find ourselves,” she said.
Babet was heard by Guardian Australia, and by numerous people in the Senate chamber, to have called out “I do” at this point of Wong’s speech.
Approached for comment, Babet did not deny calling out the remark, adding: “Radical Islam has no place in Australia, it is the sword that the radical Marxists will use to dismantle western civilisation.”
The words “I do” can be faintly made out on video recordings of the Senate debate, and were heard by several Senate sources from various political parties. Babet told Guardian Australia he had said: “I do, I hate radical Islam”.
Pauline Hanson censured by the Senate – 55 votes to five
After splitting the motion – the first which the Coalition did not support (except for Andrew McLachlan, who crossed the floor to vote with the government) – the second part, which was the substantive text of the motion, has passed, 55 votes to 5.
As per the motion, Hanson now has five minutes to make an explanation or apology.
Full text of Labor’s censure motion against Pauline Hanson
What is the government’s motion? It’s long – but here it is in full:
To move—That the Senate—
(1) Notes that:
(a) on Monday 24 November 2025, Senator Hanson engaged in behaviour in the chamber that was intended to vilify and mock people on the basis of their religion;
(b) Senator Hanson’s actions were disrespectful to Muslim Australians;
(c) Senator Hanson’s actions disrespected the Parliament and were inconsistent with the standards of behaviour that all parliamentarians have an obligation to uphold;
(d) Senator Hanson further disrespected the Senate by refusing to obey the ruling of the chair;
(e) the Senate then took the extraordinary step of suspending Senator Hanson for the remainder of the sitting day;
(f) Senator Hanson refused to comply with the Senate’s order and leave the chamber, requiring the sitting of the Senate to be suspended; and
(g) Senator Hanson’s actions were contrary to the standing orders, a blatant disregard for the authority of the Senate President and disrespected her Senate colleagues and the people they represent.
(2) Affirms that Australia has been built by people of every race and faith.
(3) Reaffirms that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races, religions and views, united by respect for each other and each other’s right to live in peace.
(4) Rejects any attempt to vilify or mock people on the basis of religion.
(5) Reiterates its solidarity with those who have been vilified because of their faith.
(6) Reaffirms that all parliamentarians have a role to play in upholding appropriate standards of behaviour in Parliament.
(7) Calls on those who work in and report on this Chamber to ensure they are not causing harm or platforming harmful actions.
(8) Censures Senator Hanson for her actions, which do not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people.
(9) Does not regard it as appropriate for Senator Hanson to represent the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this Parliament.
(10) Considers Senator Hanson’s conduct in defying the ruling of the chair and refusal to leave the chamber following her suspension amounts to further disorder under standing order 203.
(11) Calls upon Senator Hanson to attend the Senate immediately to make an explanation or apology, of no more than 5 minutes, in accordance with standing order 203(3).
What’s going on with the Hanson censure motion in the Senate?
There’s a fair bit of procedure going on now – here’s what’s happening.
Katy Gallagher moves to close the debate, then the Senate votes on Anne Ruston’s amendment to the government’s censure motion.
That amendment – which is supported by the One Nation senators and Ralph Babet – is voted down by the government, Greens and the rest of the crossbench.
Ruston then moves to split the government’s motion so the two parts can be voted on separately.
Gallagher reminds Senate their job is ‘not to pick fights and vilify and punch down on particular groups’
The final senator to speak is Katy Gallagher, who says Hanson’s comments have consequences that go far outside this building.
She then brings up when the Senate censured Fraser Anning in 2019, when he made “shameful” comments on the Christchurch massacre.
The Senate stood together in this place against Senator Anning when he made unacceptable and appalling comments, and the motion is clear, and again, was moved actually, in that instance by Senator [Mathias] Cormann and Senator Wong working together across the chamber, again, the Senate making a stand, showing leadership, doing the job that people of Australia send us here to do is to pull people together, to unite the country, not to seek to pick fights and vilify and punch down on particular groups, for fun, for content, for a stunt. It’s not what they send us here to do.
Nationals call for ‘respectful and honest debate about migration’ during discussion on Hanson censure motion
Half an hour has been allocated for this debate, before the Senate votes on the censure motion.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie says Australia has been “built by people of every race and faith”, but pushes back against Mehreen Faruqi, saying, “pointing the finger across the chamber, calling each other racist, does nothing to move our joint cause forward”.
While she speaks, there’s some interjections in the background, and Senate president Sue Lines tells Lidia Thorpe and Matt Canavan to stop interrupting.
McKenzie also asserts that Australia needs to have a conversation about migration levels in Australia.
I think there is a need for a respectful and honest debate about migration and values in this country, but this chamber needs to be a place where all the diversity of opinions that our great country holds, and their very wide diverse opinions are expressed, and if you don’t want to listen, as this president often says to me, if you can’t listen in silence, leave the chamber.
But the contribution needs to be made anyway, people will violently disagree with my views on migration, on values and the number of people that need to come in, but they don’t have to listen to me, but I do have a right and also a responsibility to express that view in this chamber. That’s what this chamber is for.
‘This parliament drips now in racism’ says Faruqi
Deputy Greens leader, Mehreen Faruqi, stands up next to condemn Hanson, and accuses the whole chamber of allowing racism to fester inside and outside of parliament.
She says that when Hanson first pulled the same stunt in 2017, there were no senators of a Muslim background in the chamber – now there are two.
Finally, after three decades, after three decades of piling on hate and racism, on Muslims, on Asians, on people of colour, finally, at least some of us in this chamber want to hold Senator Hanson to account …
You just want to talk about respecting each other. Well, this is where respecting each other and just talking the talk has got us, this parliament drips now in racism, because for decades, for decades, politicians and both major parties can I say, let it happen.
Senate debates before second vote to censure Pauline Hanson
To clarify what’s happening now, the Senate has voted to debate before a second vote to censure Hanson.
Penny Wong is the first to speak:
Senator Hanson’s hateful and shallow pageantry tears at our social fabric and I believe it makes Australia weaker.
The deputy leader of the opposition in the Senate, Anne Ruston, speaks next and moves an amendment to Wong’s censure motion.
The amendment adds to the motion solidarity towards Australians of different faiths, calls on parliamentarians and staff “to ensure they are not causing harm or platforming harmful actions” and “affirms that Australia has been built by people of every race and faith”. Ruston says:
It is so, so important that when we come into this place that our actions, our behaviours, our words, all reflect what we would like to see as our proud society, and fundamental to that absolutely has to be respect, respect for everybody, because what we do in here is a reflection of what happens out there.
Hanson to be censured by Senate
Leader of the government in the Senate, Penny Wong, who spoke furiously against Pauline Hanson yesterday afternoon, has introduced a motion to censure Hanson in the chamber.
Just five senators voted against the motion – Hanson, three other One Nation senators and the United Australia party’s Ralph Babet.
After that first vote passes, Wong says Hanson pulled an “immature and shameless” stunt:
After what occurred yesterday, someone I’m close to this morning spoke about a conversation with her seven-year-old daughter last night and her daughter asked, Mummy do all Christians hate Muslims. That summarised where we find ourselves and we see it again.
I grew up in an Australia where my brother and I were the only Asians at school and I have spoken at length about what that was like.
Senator Hanson has been parading prejudice as protest for decades.
Tom McIlroy
Greens to push to censure Pauline Hanson
The Greens will push for a censure of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in the Senate this afternoon.
The minor party are angry at Hanson’s stunt on Monday, in which she donned a burqa in the Senate chamber and then disrupted proceedings.
The Greens want a formal vote of criticism and for Hanson to be barred from travelling on overseas parliamentary delegations, a similar punishment to that handed to Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi when she protested the war in Gaza during a speech by the governor general.
Queensland teachers’ boss defends strike, saying ‘our members have had enough of teacher shortages’
Queensland’s teachers’ union president, Cresta Richardson, has defended today’s strike action, in which tens of thousands of educators are walking off the job amid exams for years 10 and 11 students.
Richardson says the schools had plenty of time to prepare, and were given seven days’ notice.
This is the strike that the premier has wanted.
We have been reasonable in our requests as we’ve been going through this process, our members have voted against the last, final, best offer from the government’s conciliation. This is really about continuing to stand up. Our members have had enough of teacher shortages. They’ve had enough of occupational violence, not being resourced enough.
Richardson said the government’s threat to go after issues outside the conciliation process was an attempt to punish members for refusing their conciliation offer. She called on the premier or education minister to resolve the dispute before it goes into arbitration at the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission next year at the latest.
Josh Butler
Pauline Hanson is back in the Senate after her suspension yesterday – dressed in standard clothes, and no repeat of the burqa stunt from yesterday.
Hanson appears to be about to face a censure motion moved by Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe appeared to stare Hanson down as she entered the parliament, not breaking her stare as the One Nation leader took her seat. Glancing up at her seat neighbour, Hanson appeared to greet Thorpe and say hello.
As is customary for One Nation lately, Hanson and her other two party mates turned their backs on the Indigenous welcome to country as it was made in the parliament by the Senate president Sue Lines.
