Senator Lidia Thorpe has been suspended from Parliament

Senator Lidia Thorpe has been suspended from Parliament for the rest of the year following a confrontation with Pauline Hanson in the Senate this morning.

Labor, Coalition and some coalition senators voted to suspend Thorpe for another day of sitting after she appeared to throw papers during a heated debate in which Senator Fatima Payman accused Hanson of being a racist.

Penny Wong, the government leader in the Senate, made the motion to suspend Thorpe around 6 p.m. It was approved by 46 votes to 11.

Wong said Thorpe was suspended for “inappropriate and sometimes offensive comments” toward other senators.

Last week she said the motion would not stop her from future protests. She did not want to comment on her suspension this evening.

Today’s row began when Senator Fatima Payman accused Pauline Hanson of racism before being forced to retract the remark

Payman’s eligibility to sit in Parliament has been repeatedly questioned by the One Nation leader.

Hanson attempted to file her correspondence with the President of the Senate about Payman’s dual citizenship and whether she should be allowed to sit in the House.

Hanson said she would also table a motion for a vote on whether the matter should be investigated by the senators’ standing committee on interests.

“I will stand firm on this issue,” Hanson said.

“I will do this again and again. I will do it today, be prepared.”

Payman called Hanson racist but had to retract his comment.

She then quoted several of Hanson’s comments, including one from her inaugural speech in which she said, “We are in danger of being swamped by Asians.”

“If this isn’t racism, then what is it?” said an angry Zahler as she slapped her hand down.

“You’re not just vindictive, mean, evil. You bring shame to humanity.”

“I have continued to give you the benefit of the doubt, Senator Hanson, despite your repeated attempts to be racist towards anyone who doesn’t look like you.”

Hanson called for the comments to be taken back, while Thorpe shouted at her: “You are a convicted racist.”

Thorpe appeared to throw papers at Hanson and later stormed off the Senate floor with a raised middle finger.

Thorpe and the Greens sided with Payman to prevent the document from being tabled, but Labor and the opposition voted for it.

Why did the debate start? 

Hanson has raised concerns about Payman’s dual citizenship.

Payman was born in Afghanistan and gained Australian citizenship after moving here in 2003 when she was eight.

She was elected to the Senate in 2022 as Labor’s representative in Western Australia, but dramatically dropped out in July.

She has since founded her own party, Australia’s Voice.

Hanson referred to Section 44 of the Constitution, which states that foreign citizens and dual citizens are not allowed to sit in Parliament.

Payman has attempted to renounce her Afghan citizenship, but her request was not approved by the Taliban-controlled government. 

Payman said on the Senate floor today that Hanson should personally speak to the Taliban about the matter.

“Senator Hanson wore the burqa in this location. Maybe it’s time for her to pack up her burqa, go to Afghanistan and talk to the Taliban about it,” she said.

Payman was referring to Hanson’s stunt when he arrived at the Senate in 2017 wearing a black burqa.

Motion to review racism in Parliament

The confrontation in the Senate today came just days after Thorpe and Green Party deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi tabled a motion to investigate racism in parliament.

They want the Standing Procedure Committee to conduct an investigation and report by March 31, 2025.

“It’s just not safe if you’re a woman of color,” Thorpe said Monday.

“Here it is easy to circulate racism and racist comments, but if you dare to denounce racism and the double standards in this place, you will be rejected, silenced and pressured,” Faruqi also said on Monday.

Faruqi won a federal court lawsuit against Hanson earlier this month over a post on X that urged her to “retire to Pakistan.” 

Your motion will need the support of your colleagues when it comes to voting.