Unrepentant Lidia Thorpe said she has no regrets about throwing papers at One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in the Senate, which saw the independent senator banned from the chamber for the rest of the year.
Senator Thorpe also accused Senator Hanson on Thursday of “regularly provoking her with racist taunts” and suggested the decision to suspend her for a day was planned to derail a private member’s bill she had introduced.
In extraordinary scenes on Wednesday, Senator Thorpe tore up documents on independent Senator Fatima Payman’s parliamentary eligibility before throwing them at Senator Hanson while repeatedly branding her a “convicted racist”.
As she stormed out of the chamber, Senator Thorpe appeared to throw a middle finger over his shoulder.
Senator Thorpe told Nine’s Karl Stefanovic that he had no regrets and was not going to “stay silent, sit quietly and allow racism to happen in front of me”.
“We all have a responsibility to eradicate racism,” said Senator Thorpe.
‘Senator Hanson gets away with so many things that she is a convicted racist. She has worn a burqa on camera.
‘She regularly provokes me with racial taunts. And he questioned what he did to Senator Payman. Its legitimacy in this place.
Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured Wednesday) was suspended from the Senate for “disorderly conduct”
Senator Thorpe said she has been the target of racism “since she was a child” and said she would take similar steps to stop racist behavior even if she saw it on the street.
He also accused Senator Hanson of “making money off the misery of racial hate speech that he continues to perpetrate against anyone who is not white.”
‘She has a fundraiser. So if you support, Pauline, go to your fundraiser and continue the hate speech, or we will oppose this,” Senator Thorpe said.
Senator Thorpe, who is an independent, said she and Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi were tabling a motion to establish an inquiry into Senate procedures to “ensure racism is not part of our workplace”.
“It was kind of a coincidence that they decided to suspend me when my private senator’s bill was about to be voted on,” Senator Thorpe told a clearly skeptical Stefanovic.
“We are a better country than being racist,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Senator Pauline Hanson could be seen crossing in front of Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, who repeatedly shouted “you’re a convicted racist!”
‘And you know, we need to unite this nation. And the only way to do that is to stop people from being racist.”
Labor government and Opposition Coalition sources told the ABC the rebel senator’s savage outburst was considered serious enough for action to be taken against him.
On Wednesday night, the Senate passed the motion to suspend Senator Thorpe for “disorderly conduct” from the chamber until the end of Thursday, which is also the last day of the parliamentary session scheduled for 2024.
The motion tabled by Senate Labor leader Penny Wong was passed by 46 votes to 11 in the absence of Senator Thorpe.
“We all have responsibility for our behavior, whether in this place or contributing to public debate,” Senator Wong told the Senate.
‘We are all elected to represent Australians and their interests.
“We express our opinions respectfully to understand each other’s perspectives and those of our constituents and ultimately reach a majority opinion on the best path forward.”
His former Greens colleagues were the only senators to oppose the adjournment motion.
“We do not believe that the approach of denying him an entire day of ability to vote in the Senate is an appropriate and proportionate response to that action,” said Greens Senate leader Larissa Waters.
Fatima Payman (pictured) spoke after Senator Hanson attempted to present a document raising her possible Afghan citizenship as a reason to be excluded from parliament.
It comes after a chaotic day in the Senate where Senator Hanson tabled a document claiming Labor defector Fatima Payman’s Afghan citizenship disqualified her from serving in parliament.
Section 44c of the Australian constitution prevents anyone who holds the citizenship of another country from sitting in parliament.
This sparked a fiery volley from Senator Payman, who accused the One Nation leader of racism and claimed she brings “dishonour to the human race”.
‘Senator Hanson has worn the burqa in this place. Maybe it’s time for you to pack up your burqa and go to Afghanistan and talk to the Taliban about this,” Senator Payman fumed.
“All Senator Hanson has done in this place is sow hatred and division.”
In 2017, Senator Hanson wore a back burqa on the Senate floor to demonstrate that such covering constituted a security risk.
In early November, the Federal Court ruled that Senator Hanson racially discriminated against Senator Faruqi in a tweet.
Senator Hanson tweeted ‘Go back to Pakistan’ after Senator Faruqi commented on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.