TRANSCRIPT:
- Political leaders condemn Pauline Hanson's burqa stunt
- Talks continue on a plan to end the war in Ukraine
- Ash Riddell named best and fairest at the AFLW awards
Leaders across the political divide have condemned Pauline Hanson for again wearing a burqa in parliament as she attempted to draw attention to her bill to ban the traditional Muslim garment.
The One Nation leader was suspended from the Senate chamber on Monday after Greens, Labor, Liberal and independent senators spoke against her action.
In 2017, Senator Hanson famously pulled a similar stunt, and yesterday, Senate President in the chair, Slade Brockman, reaffirmed clothing as a choice for individual Senators.
Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi - who is Muslim herself - quickly pushed back against this approach.
"A dress code might be a choice of the senators, but racism should not be the choice of this Senate. This is a racist senator, displaying blatant racism and Islamophobia, President, and someone should pull her up on that, and it is you in the chair. You should be pulling her up on that."
Leader of the Government in the Senate, Penny Wong, condemned Ms Hanson's actions as disrespectful, saying her behaviour was not worthy of a member of the Australian Senate.
The Senate was later suspended for 90 minutes, after Ms Hanson refused to remove the burqa or leave.
The One Nation leader defended her actions, calling for her private members bill to ban the burqa be debated in Parliament.
Ms Hanson sought to frame her push to ban the religious garment as being about women's rights, national security, and what she called assimilation.
"I'm sorry, this is Australia. This does not belong in Australia, and least give me the opportunity to raise the bill to debate it, and let's have the debate on floor of Parliament, because I do represent a large proportion of Australians out there who want to see the burqa banned. Full face coverings, it's not only the burqa, it's about full face coverings. if you wear a bike helmet into the bank you are denied the right to go in, so why are we allowing this?"
In an interview with SBS, the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Dr Anne Aly, said she was disappointed Ms Hanson's had chosen to target a group of women.
She said women should be allowed to wear what they choose - whether it be a bikini or burqa.
**
Some politicians and their staff have been told to power down devices and close windows and doors for privacy as a top Chinese official visits Federal Parliament today.
Zhao Leji, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, is expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
He landed in Canberra yesterday as part of an official state visit, and met the Governor General.
Mr Zhao was welcomed by dozens of pro-Chinese Communist Party demonstrators who caught buses from Sydney to be at Parliament house for his arrival.
**
The United States and Ukraine are continuing to discuss what they're calling a 'refined peace framework' as Russia says it hasn't received any official communication on the evolving plan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his team had narrowed the unresolved issues, without giving more precise details about changes to the plan that had sparked alarm in Europe.
On Sunday, Ukraine and its allies pushed back against a proposal that involved significant ceding of land and limits on the size of Ukraine's military.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's working with the US to reach compromises that would strengthen his war-weary country.
“It is crucial to support the principles on which Europe stands: that borders cannot be changed by force, that war criminals must not escape justice, and that the aggressor must pay fully for the war he started. And this is why decisions on Russian assets are essential."
**
To sport now and in the AFLW, North Melbourne midfield machine Ash Riddell has secured the AFLW best and fairest award for the first time, underlining her status as one of the league's brightest stars.
After a stellar season, she's become the first North Melbourne player to win the award, polling 23 votes to Geelong's Georgie Prespakis' 20 and Melbourne's Tyla Hanks' 18.
Receiving her award she reflected on how she almost missed her calling after stepping away from AFL as a school girl.
RIDDELL: "Yeah, I think I was like a lot of us in the room. It got to that point where you either join an all girls team, which there wasn't many, or just go play basketball. So I did that up until I was sort of 18, and then sort of came back to footy late."
MC: "What brought you back to footy?"
RIDDELL: "I think I'm lucky my partner and all his mates were really into footy, massive footy nuffies (obsessive footy fan). So I went down to Fitzroy, and more than anything, to be honest, I just like the social side of things, and go to the pub after the game. And so I think that probably got me back into footy. And then I probably got a little bit too competitive, and thought I want to try and take it to the next level, when obviously the AFLW came into the competition."
Riddell will lead the Kangaroos in this Saturday's grand final against the Brisbane Lions.
