One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her legal team will look into a possible new appeal in the High Court after she lost an appeal against a ruling that found she racially discriminated against Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
In 2024, the court first ruled Hanson had breached the Racial Discrimination Act when she told Faruqi to “piss off back to Pakistan” in a tweet. On Monday, the court once again found that Hanson had breached the Racial Discrimination Act and her appeal to the inital decision was thrown out.
In response, Hanson said she was “disappointed” and her legal team would review it, “with a view to commencing an appeal in the High Court of Australia”.
“Public discussion in Australia has become almost totally silenced by laws and rules which prevent ordinary people expressing their personal views in case some small part of our society takes some sort of offence or feels hurt or distressed,” Hanson said in a statement on Monday.
It has been reported Hanson has sought advice from Bret Walker, SC, a top constitutional law expert.
The saga began shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, when Faruqi posted that she “cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonized people”.
Senator Hanson replied, tweeting: “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 in 2024, Justice Angus Stewart concluded that Hanson’s post was “anti-Muslim or Islamophobic”.
On Monday, Justices Melissa Perry, Geoffrey Kennett, and Elizabeth Bennett found an offensive remark directed at one person because of their race may also affect others who share that racial background. In doing so, they dismissed Hanson’s appeal.
For Faruqi, the decision was a signal that justice had prevailed, saying it was a win for anyone who has ever faced racial vilification.
“Today the Full Court of the Federal Court has unanimously dismissed her appeal and upheld Justice Stewart’s initial ruling that she engaged in racist and Islamophobic behaviour and breached 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act,” Faruqi said.
“This is a win for every single person who has been told to go back to where you came from.”
“Today is a win for every single person who has been made to feel that their belonging in this country is conditional. Today is a win for every single person who has been told to sit down, to shut up, and to just be grateful for being in this country.”
Senator Faruqi also said it was a reminder that “hate speech is not free speech”.
“Hate speech is being normalised in this country right now and I for one will not be a bystander,” she said outside the court.
Greens leader Senator Larissa Waters shared her support for the court decision on Monday, saying: “The Greens oppose One Nation’s hate and division. Hate speech is not free speech.”
“Today’s ruling is an important win against the forces who would rather see us fighting our neighbours than taking on a system broken by vested interests,” Waters said.