Mehreen Faruqi's racial discrimination trial against Pauline Hanson begins

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia's hate speech laws are being put to the test in a trial in Sydney. The Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi is taking legal action against Senator Pauline Hanson accusing her of posting a racist tweet. But the One Nation leader says her comments are protected by freedom of speech.

Transcript

00:00 Hate speech or freedom of speech?

00:04 That's the question being put to the federal court over a social media stash between two

00:09 prominent political figures.

00:11 On the day of Queen Elizabeth's death, Green Senator Maureen Faruqi tweeted she cannot

00:16 mourn the leader of a racist empire.

00:19 In response, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson posted, "It's clear you're not happy.

00:24 So pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan."

00:28 Senator Faruqi is suing Senator Hanson, claiming she violated the Racial Discrimination Act,

00:34 causing her extreme trauma but also resulting in vicarious racism against people with similar

00:40 attributes.

00:41 Her legal team is seeking to prove the comment was racially motivated by providing evidence

00:47 that Senator Hanson is a well-known, long-standing and prolific sayer of racist things.

00:53 It's unleashed as she expected it would the moment she saw it, a torrent of abuse that

00:58 made her doubt her place in Australia.

01:01 Senator Hanson's legal team says the Greens' deputy leader received a barrage of criticism

01:07 five hours before the One Nation leader tweeted her response, and that Senator Faruqi's post

01:13 on the day of the Queen's death was intended to elicit a reaction.

01:18 If the person enters the Afray in such a provocative way, they expect and seek out a response.

01:24 Sue Crisanthu, SC, says her client is protected by freedom of speech, as it's a belief that

01:30 Senator Hanson truly holds.

01:32 Pauline Hanson is due to take the witness stand tomorrow.

01:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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