A far-left Muslim Greens senator has demanded an end to the use of the term “invasive species”, and linked the culling of feral animals to “colonialism’s legacy”.
Pakistan-born Mehreen Faruqi, who has sued One Nation leader for “hate speech” despite her own history of antiwhite remarks, objected to the word “invasive” in the Senate this week.
She spoke out after Independent senator David Pocock moved a motion calling for government funding for an updated invasive species management plan, and abstained from voting.
“There’s no need for labelling introduced species as invasive in a way that blames animals for the man-made problems raised by this motion,” she said.
“Animals are not villains to be shot, or obstacles to be poisoned to death, the answer to colonialism’s legacy is not more violence and more death.
“For decades, successive governments have culled and killed introduced species, and yet native species are in a worse position today.”
Far-left Pakistan-born Muslim Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi attacks “White people” during emotional rant defending aboriginal colleague’s comment about “burning down Parliament House”.
Follow: @NoticerNews https://t.co/wdzsqMeClR
— N News (@NoticerNews) October 27, 2025
She later told Yahoo News that she used the speech to “put ideas into people’s minds” because “that’s how you start making change”.
“Labelling some animals as feral or invasive obviously creates a negative picture, and it makes it much easier to treat them inhumanely, or to kill them or to poison them,” she said.
“So if we are to label animals, then we should do it correctly, because these species labelled feral or invasive are actually introduced to Australia by people. These are introduced species, they are sentient beings, and that’s how they should be viewed.”
Dr Carol Booth, policy director at peak environmental body the Invasive Species Council, defended the term, and said it was used to describe introduced species that cause harm.
She said the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity listed invasive alien species as one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation.
Header image: Left, Mehreen Faruqi in the senate (Parliament of Australia). Right, a feral cat (Parks and Wildlife Service).
