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The Australian senate was forced to suspend its session on Monday after right-wing Senator Pauline Hanson strode in shrouded in a burqa with a niqab hiding her face.

The senator’s attempt to introduce a bill banning the garment was rejected and she was censured for the act and suspended for the rest of the day. This was the second time she wore a burqa to parliament after trying the exact same thing in 2017.

The incident sparked an uproar in the chamber, with Senators Mehreen Faruqi and Fatima Payman leading condemnation of Hanson’s stunt. Faruqi — who earlier won a discrimination suit against Hanson — said it was “displaying blatant racism,” while Payman called it “disgraceful”.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Hanson was “not worthy [to be] a member of the Australian senate”.

While her colleagues let Hanson off with a suspension, the internet was having none of her nonsense. Users quickly took to X to assail the senator for disrespecting the beliefs of nearly two billion people.

Australians on the platform wondered how — and why — someone like Hanson has been able to keep her seat in the national legislature.

A netizen asked why, in tough times, politicians tried to make scapegoats out of minorities instead of working to address actual issues. Another said this was no way to go about a discussion.

There were also those who chose to approach the situation with a hint of humour, with one person asking the government to banish the senator to one of the country’s remote islands.

Another senator caught in the frame as her burqa-clad colleague marched into the chamber became the embodiment of a national sense of second-hand embarrassment. One user called for Hanson to be banned instead of the burqa.

While politics can be inherently theatrical at times, Hanson’s actions were plain offensive and we’re glad there was pushback from both her colleagues as well as the general public.