Australian court upholds racial discrimination ruling against populist leader
The Australian Federal Court has upheld a ruling that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson racially vilified Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi in a 2022 social media post. The court rejected Hanson's appeal, affirming that her comments breached the Racial Discrimination Act.
Why it matters
The case sets a legal precedent regarding the limits of political communication and the accountability of public figures for hate speech.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Helen Livingstone Sydney Getty Images Pauline Hanson has lost her bid to overturn a court ruling that she racially vilified Senator Mehreen Faruqi Australian populist leader Pauline Hanson racially discriminated against a Muslim senator in a 2022 tweet by telling her to return to Pakistan, a court has said, upholding an earlier ruling.
The One Nation party leader had appealed a 2024 ruling that she had breached the racial discrimination act when she responded to a post by Senator Mehreen Faruqi with an "angry personal attack" that was "anti-Muslim".
Hanson had argued at the Federal Court that political communication should be protected but Justice Melissa Perry dismissed her appeal on Monday.
"Today's win is for every single person who has been made to feel that their belonging in this country is conditional," Faruqi said outside court.
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