Australian court upholds racial discrimination ruling against Pauline Hanson
On July 27, the Full Federal Court of Australia unanimously rejected Pauline Hanson’s appeal, confirming the 2024 judgment that her September 2022 tweet telling Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi to “piss off back to Pakistan” breached the Racial Discrimination Act (section 18C). Judge Angus Stewart described the post as a racist trope with a long history, anti‑Muslim and Islamophobic, and ruled it unlawful and unprotected by free‑speech defences. The court ordered Hanson to delete the tweet and to pay Faruqi’s legal costs. Senator Faruqi said “today, justice has prevailed” and hailed the decision as a win for anyone told to “go back to where you came from”. Hanson said she would review the decision and consider an appeal to the High Court of Australia.
The ruling reaffirms Australia’s anti‑discrimination laws and highlights the limits on public statements that target people on the basis of race, colour or national origin.
Entities: Angus Stewart · Federal Court of Australia · Full Federal Court of Australia · Gina Rinehart · High Court of Australia · Mehreen Faruqi · One Nation · Pauline Hanson · Racial Discrimination Act · Tommy Robinson
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 8 SOURCES] The Full Federal Court of Australia unanimously upheld a 2024 ruling that Pauline Hanson racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi. (Full Federal Court of Australia)
- [● 21 SOURCES] The tweet said “piss off back to Pakistan”. (Pauline Hanson’s 2022 tweet)
- [● 21 SOURCES] The court ordered Hanson to delete the tweet and pay Faruqi's legal costs. (Full Federal Court of Australia)
- [● 8 SOURCES] The tweet was posted in September 2022 after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. (Context of the tweet)
- [● 20 SOURCES] Hanson said she would review the decision and consider appealing to the High Court of Australia. (Pauline Hanson statement)
- [● 21 SOURCES] Judge Angus Stewart described the comment as a “racist trope with a long history” and anti‑Muslim. (Judge Angus Stewart)
- [● 21 SOURCES] The court found that Hanson’s post breached the Racial Discrimination Act (section 18C). (Full Federal Court of Australia)
- [● 20 SOURCES] Mehreen Faruqi said “today, justice has prevailed” after the judgment. (Mehreen Faruqi quote)
- [● 20 SOURCES] The Full Federal Court of Australia unanimously rejected Pauline Hanson’s appeal against a 2024 ruling that her tweet breached the Racial Discrimination Act. (Full Federal Court)
- [● 20 SOURCES] The Full Federal Court held the post was unlawful and unprotected by free‑speech defences. (Full Federal Court)