One Nation leader Pauline Hanson censured again by the Senate after her remarks about Muslims

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been censured again by the Senate after her remarks about Muslims and following her fiery return to Parliament that included a “bitch” insult.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong had moved, which passed 36-17, claiming it was about “drawing a line” after the Queensland Senator questioned if “good Muslims” exist in an interview last month.

“You say ‘oh well, there’s good Muslims out there’ well, I’m sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?,” she had asked Sky News host Sharri Markson.

Senator Wong said that the statements “distressed and offended” Australians and made Muslim Australians question if they were safe.

“Australians expect their elected representatives to set the standard for our country, and to show respect, basic respect for all Australians. Nearly a million Australians practice Islam,” Senator Wong said.

“When we undermine social cohesion, we weaken the foundations of what makes us the best country on earth.

“This censure motion is about drawing a line and sending a message to the people of faith in this country, and sending a message to children in this country that your leaders believe that condemning an entire religion is not acceptable.”

Just hours earlier Senator Hanson had been embroiled in another controversy after calling independent Lidia Thorpe a “bitch” and storming out of the chamber.

Senator Hanson issued the insult while she was addressing the Senate about the US-Israel strikes on Iran after Senator Thorpe interrupted her speech multiple times.

Senator Thorpe had heckled “Trump isn’t a Senator”, “what plant are you on?” and “sit down, sit down, sit down, you’re an absolute disgrace”.

Shortly after Senator Hanson returned to her seat, Senator Thorpe alerted the acting President of the Senate — Liberal Senator Dave Sharma — “she just called me a bitch” across the chamber.

“I just got called a bitch, by the racist,” Senator Thorpe said, during a point of order.

Senator Hanson later took to social media to label fellow Senators “out of touch snobs”.

“Today the Senate has voted to censure me, again. What a joke,” she posted to X.

“The people of Australia will judge me at the next election, not these out of touch snobs.”

The Opposition’s Senate leader Michaelia Cash condemned Senator Hanson’s comments but stopped short of supporting a formal censure in the Senate.

Senator Cash described the comments as “wrong” and not appropriate, adding “I think that there are good Muslims in Australia”.

“However, in relation to a censure, a formal censure is one of the most serious rebukes available in this chamber,” she said.

The most senior WA Liberal raised cases where Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm and former Liberal Senator George Brandis cautioned against making it the default response, “particularly to social media and public commentary”.

“The censure is one of the Senate’s most serious institutional sanctions and it should therefore be rare and sober. Not used as a routine tactic to score political points,” she said.

“It’s disappointing that the motion is going to be moved without amendment, as we would have moved an amendment to condemn the comments and to reject them.

“So, as we said, we will support A through to F. But we will not support paragraph G on the premise set out by Senator Chisholm and Senator Brandis.”

Senator Hanson was last censured in November after infamously wearing a burqa in the chamber. It came after she previously wore a burqa to Parliament in 2017.