Racism verdict latest danger to Pauline Hanson’s surge

After a tumultuous few weeks in the political spotlight, Pauline Hanson is set to hear the verdict on her appeal against apartheid.

One Nation leader, Queen Elizabeth II. He is fighting a 2024 Federal Court ruling that he defamed Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi as a racist in a tweet she sent shortly after Elizabeth’s death.

Senator Hanson’s tweet also included telling Senator Faruqi to “fuck off to Pakistan”.

His words may not have been nice, but they did not scare people of color, his lawyer told the appeals court in November.

On Monday afternoon, the Full Court of the Federal Court will decide whether the online attack breached racial discrimination law.

The 72-year-old will be hopeful of a positive outcome after increased scrutiny of his activities abroad coincided with a decline in recent polls.

He has faced criticism since returning from a trip to Europe, where he was seen holidaying in Italy with billionaire donor Gina Rinehart.

Senator Hanson also met with anti-immigration activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson, who told a conservative conference that Australia was experiencing an influx of immigrants.

A Roy Morgan poll released on Tuesday showed his anti-immigrant party’s primary vote falling by more than five percentage points in a week to 22.5 percent.

This comes four years after his response to a political rival’s tweet landed him in hot water.

On the day the Queen died, Senator Faruqi took to Twitter, now known as X, to express his condolences to those who knew the monarch.

But he added that he could not mourn the passing of the leader of “a racist empire built on the stolen lives, lands and wealth of colonized peoples.”

In response, Senator Hanson said he was appalled and disgusted by the comments.

“When you immigrated to Australia you enjoyed all the advantages of this country,” he wrote.

“It’s clear you’re not happy, so pack your bags and go back to Pakistan.”

Senator Hanson’s lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou, admitted that the remarks were not appropriate for afternoon tea or the courtroom.

But he argued that the court’s finding that Senator Hanson’s words actually frightened black Australian immigrants was excessive.

Senators Faruqi and Hanson also clashed over some of the right-wing actor’s more notable moves in the Senate chamber.

The Greens senator accused Senator Hanson of blatant racism and Islamophobia by wearing a burqa to parliament just six days after her appeal hearing in November.

This was the senator’s second time performing the burqa demonstration.