By Adelaide Lang and Tom Wark
After spending much of her decades-long career rejecting accusations of racism, One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has failed to quash a court ruling that she made a racist remark online.
She was found in 2024 to have racially vilified deputy Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi by telling her to “piss off back to Pakistan” in a tweet posted shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In his Federal Court decision handed down in 2024, Justice Angus Stewart ruled it was “seriously offensive” and a “strong form of racism”.
Senator Hanson launched an appeal against the finding, with her barrister arguing the remarks might not have been pleasant but they did not intimidate people of colour.
The appeal was dismissed by the Full Court of the Federal Court on Monday, nearly four years after the social media post that landed the firebrand politician in hot water.
It came in response to a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Senator Faruqi on the day of the Queen’s death in which she offered her condolences to those who knew the monarch.
But she added she could not mourn the passing of the leader of a “racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples”.
In a heated retort, Senator Hanson said she was appalled and disgusted by the comments.
“When you immigrated to Australia you took every advantage of this country,” she wrote.
“It’s clear you’re not happy, so pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan.”
The remark was the “ultimate racist slur”, Senator Faruqi noted after her victory in the Federal Court two years ago.
The social media stoush isn’t the only time the two politicians have clashed, with some of Senator Hanson’s more eye-catching stunts in the Senate drawing her colleague’s ire.
The Greens senator accused the right-winger of blatant racism and Islamophobia when the latter wore a burqa into parliament, just six days after the appeal hearing in November.
It was the second time Senator Hanson had pulled the burqa stunt.
The 72-year-old has recently come under fire since returning from a European trip, where she was seen holidaying in Italy with billionaire donor Gina Rinehart.
Senator Hanson also met with anti-immigration activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson and told a conservative conference Australia had been flooded with migrants.
Since returning, she has attracted criticism for describing domestic violence as a “two-way street” in comments she insists have been taken out of context.
A Roy Morgan poll published on Tuesday showed her anti-immigration party’s primary vote dipped more than five percentage points to 22.5 per cent in the space of a week.
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Obviously the judge is deluded
The Judge is very wrong.
Federal Court? Salary paid by the Federal Government? And, Pauline Hanson is not anti-immigration, but far fewer immigrants and only when every existing resident has a roof over his/her head. Tommy Robinson is correct in what he says - even Blind Freddy can see that England is stuffed, and we don't want Australia to end up the same way.
And, it has nothing to do with racism - I am fed up with people playing mind games, and using reverse psychology.
The reporting, here, by Adelaide Lang and Tom Wark is biased. Shame on you. If immigrants choose to not comply with Australia's way of life, then they should p*ss off to their country of origin - that is what Australians are expected to do in other countries.
It was actually a panel of three judges who were reviewing the initial decision by another judge ... so actually four judges over several years reviewing all of the evidence and the law ...
Sometimes I feel sorry for PH. Our system of Senate voting allows people, like her, to enter politics without a great number of people voting for them. Over the years the Senate has been home to all types of people with little or no knowledge of what they are required to do in office. PH has shown, only too well, that she isn’t up to holding a Senate seat. It’s not her fault. It’s the system we have. We should all reflect on what standard of government we want?
It is not PH who is not up to holding a seat. It is the person she remonstrated with for so cruelly denigrating our Queen who had just passed away!!!!
Well said Susan-it appears racism only works one way, as what the other senator said was infinitely more offensive to most people!
I agree. Racism only works one way in this country.
Yet you don't bemoan the likes of Feruqi and Hanson-Young being in the Senate whilst they are far more damaging and dangerous than Pauline Hanson. Are you a Greens voter by any chance?
Well it sure isn’t the government we have in power now. They are liars, the cost of living is still skyrocketing. We are pensioners and we are having to watch every penny we spend. You try living on a pension when you still have to pay house insurance. Car insurance and registration, electricity and rates and try to stay in private health. There not much left to try and have a decent life.
Paul. I couldn't agree with you more strongly. As a teacher of nearly 50 years, the worst thing that the Education system has done, is water down the once compulsory "Citizenship Education" (you can imagine how that was abbreviated by students (SH.. Ed) and whilst many young people may vote in some way or not, they ALSO have not an inkling of how the world turns around. We are victims of our own ineptitude about upholding the very values , beliefs and honest intentions that were in place when Australia was colonised. We can't turn back the hands of time, as much as we would like to, but the first nations people can certainly not deny, that their lives have been enriched by the new cultures that Europeans have brought to the Great Southern Land. Education and understanding of cultural differences will only benefit those of us who are fortunate enough to have had ancestors either born here, or immediate family who foresaw the wealth of opportunity to live in the greatest country of the world. I feel deeply indebted to my Irish forebears on both sides of the family, who risked their lives, to settle down and live in the land down under.
OMG - Faruqui can say
“But she added she could not mourn the passing of the leader of a “racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples”.
WHICH AS AN EIGHTH GENERATION AUSTRALIAN, I find highly offensive and the highest order of insult to OUR QUEEN who died that day! Yet Pauline is not allowed to admonish her for her cruel, unkind, untrue and racist remarks. YES - racist against white Christian people, culture and civilisations! HOW DARE THE COURTS ALLOW ONE PERSON TO DENIGRATE AND INSULT OUR COUNTRY AND ITS WAYS and to disrespect our now dead Queen???
While at the same time preventing a dyed in the wool Aussie the right to put that person firmly in their place!!! I can honestly say our courts are in the pockets of WEF etc whose ONLY agenda is one world order!!!
I heard on the "The Late Debate" last night that senator Faruqui had done the same to Pauline a few years ago.
Nothing will ever be solved if we hark back to historical events and problems. This is the now! and events of the day will continue until everyone settles down and tries to get on with each other. Although it is a concern that we have immigrants that will never assimilate as they agreed to do when they became citizens of this wonderful country. I will probably not vote for ONE NATION but I do understand why her party has become so popular.
How sensitive have Australians become - used to be a time when people could say what they thought - not anymore
Exactamo !!!
Well here we go again. So it’s ok for others to say racist slurs and wear garments in to the Senate but not Pauline. Labour and the Greens are the ones creating all of this in trying to bring PH and One Nation down. People of Australia stand up and fight to stop these liar’s from turning our great country into a communist country. So who is the real racist here, true Australians who believe in fighting for our freedom of speech and our culture or those that are bringing in people who hate us. Our western ways and our way of life.
So disappointing that Australia has come to support bigoted people.
Australian Aged Pensioner who seeks justice and balance in our lives. Lest We Forget.
As usual she is saying what a big majority of us are thinking. TRUTH always hurts. F.I.O.F.O. Simple
Well said...
Go Pauline go
Pauline says what majority of true aussies are thinking
Pauline expresses what true Aussies r thinking.
Go Pauline go.
Freedom of speech in our wonderful country.
And here we have it. The federal court is Albos weapon against Pauline Hanson. Sounds exactly like Trump using the courts to shut down his foes. Pauline just said what a lot of Aussies are thinking about some of the Greens senators. The Greens are no longer relevant in politics since Bob Brown left. What is more, what Pauline said was perfectly true. You come to this country for a better life and reap the benefits, if you don't like it go back to where you came from. I am an immigrant who has told my expats that if they don't agree with the way Australia is then go home. Is this seriously racist or just the truth. Oh the expats are all white too that I tell to go home.. Go figure. This judge should be removed from the bench.
I suppose my post will be taken down because it will offend somebody. Just saying.
What a disgusting verdict. Any other parliamentary ministers can do and say whatever they want to discredit Senator Hanson.
There would not be enough gaol cells for all the millions of Australians who want, think and speak every word of freedom of speech. against three other women Senators who continually through wicked slurred speakers almost in every Parliament Sitting, including the “ Speakers of the House.”
ALBO IS IN NO DOUBT THAT HE IS BEHIND THIS OUTRAGEOUS PENALTY. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
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