One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has lost an appeal against a court ruling which found she racially discriminated against Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi by telling her to “piss off back to Pakistan”.
Senator Hanson had appealed the judgement handed down in November 2024, which found she breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act and ordered she delete the offending tweet.
In appeal hearings, Senator Hanson’s lawyers argued that 18C should not apply to political communication because it is protected by the Constitution.
In the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday, Justice Melissa Perry said a decision on costs would be reserved.
The judgement was published online shortly after, where the three Federal Court judges explained that “none of the grounds of appeal have been established”.
They described the primary court ruling as sound, and agreed Senator Hanson’s tweet targeted “immigrants, people of colour and Muslims”.
“The Primary Judgment identifies the groups with clarity, identifies the correct test, and then applies a coherent analysis as to why the primary judge was satisfied that a relevant portion of the identified groups has been offended, insulted, humiliated and intimidated,” it stated.
The judgement against Senator Hanson was handed down in November 2024. Bourke)
The Deputy Greens leader took Senator Hanson to Federal Court over the post on Twitter, now X, which was made in September 2022 on the day Queen Elizabeth II died.
Senator Faruqi’s post said she “cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonized people”.
Senator Hanson’s tweet, posted as a reply read: “Your attitude appals 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. It’s clear you’re not happy, so pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan. — PH.”
In his ruling, Justice Angus Stewart concluded that the post was “anti-Muslim or Islamophobic” and that Senator Hanson’s large following empowered others to post similar messages on X.
The One Nation leader defended her post in court by arguing she did not know Senator Faruqi was Muslim, but Justice Stewart ruled it was “overwhelmingly probable” that she did know that.
Senator Faruqi was in court for Monday’s appeal judgement, but Senator Hanson was not present.
Faruqi says ‘justice has prevailed’
Outside court, Senator Faruqi said the decision to dismiss the appeal was a win for immigrants who had settled in Australia.
“Today, justice has prevailed,” she said.
“Today’s win is for every single person out there who has been told to go back where they came from … who has been made to feel their belonging in this country is conditional.”
Senator Faruqi was present at the Federal Court in Sydney for the judgement.
Holding a hard copy of the judgement, she added that the court’s ruling amounted to a repudiation of Senator Hanson’s language.
“Here we have 434 paragraphs of dismissing Pauline Hanson’s appeal, of confirming that indeed Pauline Hanson behaved in racism, Islamophobia and hate.”
Senator Faruqi said the court action was necessary as “hate speech is being normalised in this country”.
“One Nation and Pauline Hanson’s racism has harmed too many over the last three decades.
“Today’s victory is especially important because it comes at a time when the far right is rising and fuelling more and more racism in this country.
“This case today is our fight back.”
Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman described the judgement as a “landmark decision”.
“There has been uncertainty about how the law applies where people experience racism through overlapping aspects of their identity … The Court has now provided much-needed clarity,” he said.
Hanson will look to appeal
In a post on X, Senator Hanson responded to the judgement, saying she was “disappointed” and she would review it with a “view to commencing an appeal in the High Court of Australia”.
In the post, she also takes aim at “rules and laws” which she said had silenced public discussion, preventing “ordinary people” from putting forward their opinions for fear they may offend a “small part of our society”.
“This has never been, nor ever should be, the Australian way,” she stated.
“We all need to have the courage, and the freedom, to say what we think on issues that are important to us all.
“Some of those views may not be what certain people would like to hear, but that doesn’t mean that they are not valid views.”
Senator Hanson also doubled down on the reasons behind her 2022 tweet.
“I was incensed by the incredible disrespect that I felt was shown to our late Queen on the day of her death by Senator Fahruqi and others. I simply wanted to call that out.
“For me, respect for our institutions of government; for our collective moral compass; and for the principles, including respect for our Head of State, which together have shaped this wonderful nation, are vital attributes which all Australians should embrace.”
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