‘No I won’t’: What caused Pauline Hanson to storm out of Senate

World

27 Jul, 2022 01:30 AM 2 minutes to read

Senator Pauline Hanson storms out of the chamber. Photo / NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Pauline Hanson has been branded a racist after she sensationally stormed out of the Senate during the Acknowledgement of Country.

Senate president Sue Lines acknowledged the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples as the traditional custodians of the Canberra area and paid respect to past and present during the opening of today’s sitting.

As is tradition, the acknowledgment is given daily and is followed by the Lord’s Prayer.

But before Lines could finish the acknowledgment, the One Nation leader interjected.

“No, I won’t,” she yelled, adding, “I never will”.

While it wasn’t captured on the parliamentary broadcast feed, NCA NewsWire photographer Gary Ramage caught Hanson fleeing the scene.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, a proud Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, quickly condemned the “disrespectful” move.

“Day two of the 47th parliament and racism has reared its ugly head,” she tweeted.

“Pauline Hanson disrespectfully stormed out of the Acknowledgement of Country in the Senate, refusing to acknowledge “those people”. Do you want to make parliament safe? Get rid of racism.”

The Senate is due to consider a motion to display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the chamber alongside the Australian flag.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a point to include the flags in the backdrop of his first prime ministerial press conference after being sworn in.

The three flags are already displayed side-by-side in the House of Representatives.