AUSTRALIAN COURT UPHOLDS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION RULING AGAINST PAULINE HANSON

An Australian federal court has unanimously rejected an appeal by Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, to overturn a finding that she racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi, a Greens senator. The three-judge panel of the Full Federal Court ruled on Monday that none of Hanson's seven grounds of appeal had been established, and that her comments were unlawful and unprotected by free speech defences. Hanson stated she would lodge an appeal with Australia's High Court, the country's final court of appeal. Faruqi told reporters outside court that "justice has prevailed" and called the outcome "a win for every single person out there who has been told to go back to where you came from".

The original dispute arose in September 2022, when Faruqi posted on X following Queen Elizabeth II's death that she could not "mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples". Hanson replied on social media, telling Faruqi to "pack your bags and p*** off back to Pakistan" and noting that Faruqi had taken citizenship and bought property and secured parliamentary employment in Australia. Justice Angus Stewart found in November 2025 that Hanson had engaged in "seriously offensive" and intimidating behaviour that breached the Racial Discrimination Act. Faruqi, who was born in Pakistan, attended the appeal hearing on Monday; Hanson did not.

Hanson, whose One Nation party campaigns for strict immigration controls and mass deportations of undocumented migrants, posted on X following the judgment that public discussion in Australia had been "almost totally silenced" by laws preventing people from expressing personal views. She characterised restrictions on such speech as contrary to "the Australian way". Faruqi did not appear in person at the original trial but was present for the appeal judgment.