Pauline Hanson's attack on the pay of Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour is nothing more than a "racist witch-hunt", parliament has heard.
Senator Hanson has brought on debate in the Senate on Wednesday calling for the board of Australia Post to be sacked over the "disgusting" remuneration paid to its chief executive and directors.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson launched a scathing attack against the One Nation leader, insisting her pursuit of executive pay at Australia Post was about Mr Fahour being a high-profile and successful Lebanese-born Muslim.
"Don't think you can use this chamber for racist witch-hunts and get away with it," Senator Whish-Wilson told parliament.
"It's no coincidence that the same senator who has publicly said we're being over-run by Muslims is targeting one of Australia's most successful and high-profile Muslims," Senator Whish-Wilson said.
The Greens senator says the One Nation website refers to Mr Fahour as being "Lebanese-born", and points out that he received a tax deduction for donating money to the Islamic Museum in Melbourne.
It also published the names of his family members in capital letters "to highlight that they are Arabic surnames".
If Senator Hanson had cared about rich people being paid too much, she wouldn't have supported legislation last year which handed Mr Fahour and the wealthiest 20 per cent of Australians a tax cut.
"She gave Ahmed Fahour a $315-a-year pay rise."
Senator Hanson said Mr Fahour's $5.6 million salary was disgusting, labelling the board of Australia Post "weak and lost".
The board had proven itself incapable of bringing pay into line with community expectations, she said.
Liberal senator James Paterson stopped short of calling for the board to be sacked but urged board members to "take their obligations very seriously and to disclose relevant information" when they face a Senate grilling in coming weeks.
"The $5.6 million that the Australia Post board decided was appropriate to pay the CEO is only the kind of decision a board would make if they knew that it would not be something that would be publicly scrutinised," he said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was also critical of Mr Fahour's pay when it was revealed last week, calling on him to take a voluntary cut.
He labelled it part of a "cult of excessive executive CEO remuneration".
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