Court Rules Hanson's Comments Racially Discriminatory

In a landmark ruling, Justice Angus Stewart found that Pauline Hanson engaged in racially discriminatory behavior when she told Muslim senator Mehreen Faruqi to 'piss off back to Pakistan' in a September 2022 social media post. The court deemed the comment 'seriously offensive' and a breach of the Racial Discrimination Act, rejecting Hanson's claim that she was unaware of Faruqi's Muslim identity. The judge stated that the tweet represented a strong form of racism and an angry personal attack rather than a legitimate political discourse. As a result, Hanson has been ordered to delete the tweet and cover Faruqi's legal costs, although a proposed donation to charity was denied. This case emphasizes the legal boundaries surrounding hate speech and racial discrimination in Australia.