Pauline Hanson loses appeal over Mehreen Faruqi racial discrimination finding
An Australian court has rejected Pauline Hanson’s appeal and upheld a finding that her 2022 social media post about senator Mehreen Faruqi breached the Racial Discrimination Act.
An Australian court has upheld a finding that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson engaged in racial discrimination against Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, rejecting Hanson’s attempt to overturn the judgment.
The case concerned a social media post Hanson made in September 2022 telling Faruqi to return to Pakistan. In the earlier judgment, Justice Angus Stewart found the post was seriously offensive and intimidating and breached Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act.
Hanson appealed after that ruling, but the judges hearing the challenge found in Faruqi’s favour. The decision leaves the discrimination finding in place and adds another judicial ruling to a closely watched dispute involving political speech and protections against racial discrimination in Australia.
