Senator Fatima Payman accuses One Nation leader of racism in Senate

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Independent senator Fatima Payman and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson have had a heated row after Ms Hanson questioned the former Labor senator’s eligibility to sit in parliament

Transcript

00:00There were pretty dramatic scenes in the Senate today, heated words.

00:06We even saw Senator Lydia Thorpe scrunch up a piece of paper and throw it at Pauline Hanson.

00:12This is all regarding Senator Hanson's allegations or questions over Senator Fatima Paven's eligibility

00:18to be in Parliament, and she's basing that around Section 44.

00:22You may remember around six years ago, Section 44 was a huge story in Australian politics.

00:26It caused a lot of problems for many Australian politicians.

00:30It says that Australian politicians, if they are dual citizens, must have denounced their

00:35other citizenship or must have taken reasonable steps to have done so.

00:40Now Senator Paven is a dual citizen with Afghanistan and Australia, but she says she's taken reasonable

00:46steps but right now Afghanistan is run by the Taliban, so she can't exactly go back

00:51over there and change her citizenship there.

00:54So that's the background to what this was all about, but here's what played out in the Senate.

00:59I see it as a protection racket by the Greens to protect Senator Paven.

01:05That is not what this place is about.

01:06Why is someone being treated totally different than every other senator in this place?

01:11Senator Hanson has worn the burqa in this place.

01:14Maybe it's time that she pack her burqa and go to Afghanistan and talk to the Taliban

01:19about this.

01:20Because clearly when the Labor Party put me up as a candidate, they did their homework.

01:25And here it is.

01:26Here's the advice.

01:27Senator Hanson, do you want to see it for yourself?

01:30I am very honoured that I live rent-free in Senator Hanson's mind, but I think you've

01:37got better things to do than worry about section 44 here when there's nothing to see.

01:43I mean, the racism and comments and quotes that you've made in the past.

01:49Senator Hanson.

01:50I want to withdraw that racism.

01:53She has said, I believe we're in danger of being swamped by Asians in her first speech.

02:00In 1998 policy speech, she said Aboriginality would no longer exist under her party's policies.

02:09In another statement, she says, we're bringing in people from South Africa at the moment.

02:15There's a huge amount coming into Australia who have disease.

02:18They've got AIDS.

02:19If that is not racist, what is it?

02:22You're not just vindictive, mean, nasty.

02:26You bring disgrace to the human race.

02:29There's been some developments this morning.

02:30The social media ban for people under the age of 16.

02:34That bill has been introduced to the lower house and has passed 102 votes to 13.

02:39So that's not unexpected because of course it has the support of both the government

02:43and the coalition.

02:45We also have three immigration bills which will come forth.

02:49One of those is which would allow Australia to pay other countries to accept non-citizens

02:54who are being deported from detention.

02:57Those three bills are likely to get up because the coalition have said that they will support

03:01them.

03:02There's also the nature positive legislation.

03:04There's some news on that.

03:06That would be a bill which would see Australia introduce an environment protection agency.

03:11It does look very unlikely to get passed this year.

03:15Sources have told the ABC there will be no deal on that this week.

03:19So those are some of the matters today.

03:21Of course there was also plenty of movement last night with later settings in the Senate.

03:25We saw some developments there.

03:26There was some easing for student HECS debt.

03:28A bill that will see $3 billion of student debt wiped for around 3 million students.

03:35And there was also a pay increase for childcare workers to the tune of 15%.

03:39That was also passed.

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