Pauline Hanson has announced she will attempt to challenge a key “hate speech” law in the High Court after losing an appeal over a tweet where she told a far-left Muslim senator to “piss off back to Pakistan”.
In 2024 leftist immigrant Federal Court Justice Angus Stewart found the One Nation leader racially vilified Pakistan-born Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, who has a history of antiwhite statements herself, and in July this year the full court ruled against Ms Hanson again.
Ms Faruqi sued Ms Hanson over the 2022 tweet under Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it unlawful for someone to do an act that is reasonably likely to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” someone because of their race or ethnicity.
The dispute began when the Greens politician reacted to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia’s head of state, by describing the late monarch as “the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples”, and calling for reparations and a republic.
“Your attitude appalls and disgusts me. When you immigrated to Australia you took every advantage of this country. You took citizenship, bought multiple homes, and a job in a parliament,” Ms Hanson responded.
“It’s clear you’re not happy, so pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan.”
Ms Hanson said on Saturday she would seek leave to appeal the decision in Australia’s highest court, and said the case had become “bigger than her and bigger than one tweet”.
“I’m taking this fight to the High Court for every Australian who feels they are being silenced and to keep their opinions to themselves,” she said.
“Too many Australians are afraid to speak honestly about immigration, race, religion, indigenous policy and other important issues because they worry they will be called racist, dragged through a complaints process or taken to court.
“That is not how a free country should work. Australians choose their government. The government should never get to choose what Australians are allowed to say.”
Ms Hanson also noted that the Full Federal Court found that the tweet was “close to the core of political communication protected by our Constitution”.
“It also accepted section 18C casts a wide net, sets a relatively low bar and places a significant burden on political communication,” she said.
“Yet the law was still upheld. That is why I am asking the High Court to hear this case.
“I will not be silenced, and I will take this fight as far as I can for Australians who feel they no longer have a voice.”
Constitutional legal expert Anne Twomey said in a video earlier month that she hoped the High Court would be able to scrutinise Ms Hanson’s appeal loss, and questioned the court’s reliance on a controversial UN treaty which was also invoked by the Commonwealth in its case against the White Australia Party.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) was drafted by the Soviet Union and its KGB spy committee member Boris Ivanov in the 1960s, and Dr Twomey said there were questions over whether it justified 18C.
“All up, I have difficulty with this judgment because it is contradictory in parts; it takes no account of the most recent High Court authority on the issues that it deals with and the reasoning, while strong and clear in some parts admittedly, is very muddy in others,” Professor Twomey said.
“While one cannot know how the High Court will deal with this case, and it could still reach the same outcome, I do hope it does get the chance to consider it. These are important constitutional issues that, in my view, have not been given proper analysis and judgment they deserve.”
“[The CERD] involves action of a very serious nature: violence, inciting violence, inciting racial discrimination, disseminating ideas based on racial superiority and racial hatred. In contrast, section 18C deals with a much lower level of matters, such as offending or insulting people based on their race.”
Dr Twomey has also warned that Labor’s new prohibited hate groups laws, which are being challenged in the High Court by the White Australia Party on similar constitutional grounds, enable the government to ban any rival political party.
Ms Hanson has repeatedly to strike down 18C, which has been maintained by both Labor and Coalition governments for decades, along with all other “hate speech” and “hate group” laws, and One Nation says on its website that it is committed to enshrining free speech in the Constitution via a referendum.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott vowed to repeal 18C in 2013, but backed down after he was elected due to pressure from the Jewish community, and recently said he now supports Australia’s anti-vilification laws.
Fellow ex-Liberal PM John Howard also opposed the introduction of 18C, but refused to scrap it during his 11 years in government.
Ms Hanson’s announcement comes ahead of nationwide “defend free speech” protests planned for August 30, while the White Australia Party’s case will be heard in early September.
Header image: Left, Pauline Hanson (One Nation). Right, Mehreen Faruqi (Australian Parliament).
