Increasingly ugly abuse in federal parliament has prompted a group of independents and the Greens to call for an urgent intervention from Labor to change the rules. Independents Fatima Payman and Lidia Thorpe, and the Greens' Mehreen Faruqi are demanding Senate president Sue Lines take the problem seriously with a new inquiry and mandatory anti-racism training for politicians. The senators expressed deep concern about the 'overt and insidious' racism they say they've felt and experienced in the upper house.
Recent incidents where they attempted to call out racism but were shut down left them feeling 'belittled, isolated and worn down simply for doing our jobs'. They allege that double standards are used to silence them and procedural rules are weaponized to shut down those calling out racism, instead of racism itself. One specific incident cited involved One Nation senator Pauline Hanson, who wore a burqa in the Senate last year for the second time in her parliamentary career.
The senators making these claims are often among the loudest and most prominent voices in the chamber themselves, which hardly reflects a culture of being silenced.
Liberal senator Slade Brockman, chairing at the time as a deputy president, stated that 'dress is a matter for an individual senator's conscience' and refused to take immediate action. Faruqi and Thorpe were ordered to resume their seats when they attempted to make a point of order. Hanson was ultimately censured for her actions and suspended from the chamber for seven days.
In response, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price rejected the claim that the Senate is a 'uniquely racist or hostile place' for women of colour. She argued that 'the senators making these claims are often among the loudest and most prominent voices in the chamber themselves, which hardly reflects a culture of being silenced'. Price also stated that parliament already has rules and standards of behavior in place which deal with misconduct, and she believes the focus should be enforcing existing rules, not assuming democratic institutions are inherently racist.
No other workplace allows people to be racist... This isn't just about senators. It's security guards, cafeteria staff, cleaners. There is a problem in this building for everyone who is not white.
On the other side, Thorpe claimed that 'most of the time they choose not to go to the chamber because there's a known racist in there ready to say terrible, violent, racist things about our people'. She also asserted that 'there is a problem in this building for everyone who is not white, including security guards, cafeteria staff, and cleaners'. It is unknown what actions, if any, Senate president Sue Lines will take in response to the demands.
When we do call it out, we're the wild, crazy Black women. We're demonised for simply standing up against racism.