Firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe has been suspended from Parliament for the rest of the sitting week after she ripped up a motion by Pauline Hanson on the chamber floor.
Senator Thorpe threw papers at the One Nation leader and appeared to flip her middle finger as she stormed out of the chamber.
Sources from both the Labor government and opposition Coalition told the ABC that independent Senator’s antics were considered serious enough to take action against.
The Senate on Wednesday night passed a motion suspended Senator Thorpe from the chamber until the end of Thursday, which is also the final scheduled parliamentary sitting day of the year.
The motion moved by Labor Senate leader Penny Wong was passed 46-11 in Senator Thorpe’s absence.
The drama unfolded in the last parliament sitting week for 2024, where the Labor government hopes to pass more than a dozen bills, including a social media ban for under-16s.
It comes after a chaotic day in the Senate where Senator Hanson tabled a document which claimed Labor defector Fatima Payman’s Afghan citizenship disqualified her from serving in parliament.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe could be suspended from parliament on Wednesday night
Senator Thorpe appeared to flip her middle finger as she stormed out of the chamber after throwing papers at One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in the Senate
Section 44c of the Australian constitution prevents anyone who holds citizenship of another country from sitting in parliament.
It sparked a vicious spray from Senator Payman, who accused the One Nation leader of racism and claiming she brings ‘disgrace to the human race’.
‘Senator Hanson has worn the burqa in this place. Maybe it’s time she pack her burqa and go to Afghanistan and talk to the Taliban about this,’ Senator Payman seethed.
‘All that Senator Hanson has done in this place is spread hatred, spread division.’
She also listed multiple previous comments made by Senator Hanson, including her first speech in which she said Australia was ‘in danger of being swamped by Asians’ and that ‘Aboriginality would no longer exist’ if her party were in power.
‘If that is not racist, what is it?’ Senator Payman yelled as she slammed her fist down on the table.
Senator Thorpe could be heard repeatedly shouting ‘You are a convicted racist!’
More to come.
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