Australian Politician Pauline Hanson Calls For Law To Ban Burqas, ‘Masked Thugs’

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has announced her latest crusade - she is rekindling old flames. 

Hanson on Thursday announced a fresh push to ban burqas and other face coverings in public — a move she claims is about “protecting public safety”. The controversial politician cited new legislation being introduced across parts of Europe to ban burqas.

Hanson said Australia must “get on board” as more than 20 countries — from France to Italy — tighten laws around religious or full‑face coverings. She argued the measure was necessary to address “increasing security threats from political Islam” and “masked violence on Australian streets.”

Hanson Claimed Women Are Forced To Wear Burqas

Calling burqas a “mechanism of control,” Hanson said the garments deny women “individual rights and freedom,” and accused the Albanese government of overlooking the issue amid what she described as “growing extremism and weak border policies.”

“Burqas not only hide the identities of the women who are often forced to wear them. They are a mechanism for these women to be controlled by men from their families or religion, to remind them they are considered property or chattels rather than individuals with rights, freedom and agency. This is completely incompatible with Australian culture, law and values, and basic women’s rights."

This is not the first time Hanson has sought such a ban — or the first time she’s used the issue to command national headlines. The Queensland senator famously wore a burqa into the Senate in 2017 during a parliamentary stunt that sparked outrage and condemnation from across the political spectrum.

Then‑Attorney‑General George Brandis rose to deliver an emotional rebuke, accusing Hanson of “offending the religious sensibilities of Australians” while warning her she was courting division.

Hanson Points To Burqa Ban In Other Countries

The stunt drew criticism internationally but, as Hanson put it at the time, had “made a point” about the need for public security and identification laws.

Her re‑emergence on the issue comes as One Nation seeks to recapture attention ahead of key state campaigns and as debates around migration, extremism, and public order re‑enter the national conversation.

Hanson cited Italy’s new face‑covering restrictions as evidence of what she called a “worldwide shift back to common‑sense security.” Since France’s 2011 ban, around 20 nations — including Belgium, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands — have implemented similar measures, typically under the banner of security or social integration.

Hanson said it was “time for Australia to catch up.” She also linked her proposal to what she described as government failures on extremist repatriations.

“This ban is urgent as the Albanese government continues to bring back individuals who joined Islamic State and offer refuge to Gazans who support Hamas,” she said, alleging the government’s humanitarian efforts opened the door to “new risks.”

Labor has not commented directly on Hanson’s proposal, but past governments — from both major parties — have consistently rejected such bans as unnecessary, divisive, and incompatible with freedom laws already embedded in the Australian legal system.

Pauline Hanson Seeks Punishment For ‘Masked Thugs’

Hanson’s new plan doesn’t stop at religious garments. She also called for harsher penalties for offenders who conceal their identities during crimes or protests, describing them as “gutless cowards.”

“As for the masked thugs and extremists on our streets, they’re gutless cowards hiding their faces so they can get away with committing violent crimes. This should not be permitted. There should be additional penalties imposed on those who commit these crimes while masked, and they must be sufficiently harsh to deter it altogether.”

“If you cover your face to commit a crime, your punishment should be even harsher,” Hanson said.

The senator argued the proposal is not only about religion, but about restoring public order.

Who Is Pauline Hanson?

One of Australia’s most polarising political figures, Hanson is known for her populist, nationalist rhetoric. As founder and leader of One Nation, Hanson rose to prominence in the 1990s with her controversial warning that Australia was being “swamped by Asians.”

Hanson has repeatedly targeted multiculturalism, Islam, and First Nations recognition, framing her politics around protecting what she calls “Australian values.” She recently participated in the anti-immigration marches in Australia. Hanson has opposed several key equality reforms, including same‑sex marriage, which she voted against in 2017. She has criticised what she calls “LGBT ideology being pushed in schools” and has spoken out against programs like Safe Schools, claiming they “confuse children about gender.”

Hanson has called for transgender children to be removed from their parents and made failed attempts to call for a parliamentary inquiry into what she called the ‘human cost of experimental child gender treatments’.