Updated at\u00a002.40 EST<\/p>\n
Special envoy against Islamophobia condemns Hanson\u2019s latest stunt<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s special envoy to combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, says he\u2019s frustrated by Pauline Hanson\u2019s stunt in the senate this afternoon.<\/p>\n
He just published this statement on social media:<\/p>\n
This will deepen existing safety risks for Australian Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf, the hijab, or the full face and body covering, the burqa (which past estimates placed at around 250 women in all Australia).<\/p>\n
They already face harassment, threats of rape, and violence, not because what they have done, but because of what they wear.<\/p>\n
Veiled Muslim women have long been easy targets for bigotry and intolerance against Muslims. A proposed burqa ban will further stigmatise them as outsiders and embolden harassment and abuse.<\/p>\n
All women should be free to choose what they wear or do not wear.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.30 EST<\/p>\n NSW man found dead in Tasmanian bush<\/p>\n A bushwalker has been found dead in remote southern Tasmania, according to the state\u2019s police force.<\/p>\n In a statement, Tasmania Police said the body was found near Federation Peak shortly before 10am.<\/p>\n The body of the 39-year-old man from New South Wales<\/a> was retrieved by the crew of a Westpac rescue helicopter early this afternoon.<\/p>\n Emergency services were contacted by the man\u2019s friends earlier today, after he failed to return from a walk as planned yesterday.<\/p>\n In a statement, a police spokesperson said \u201cour thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.18 EST<\/p>\n Senate resumes after Hanson interruption The Senate has resumed after more than an hour\u2019s suspension. Pauline Hanson has been suspended from the parliament for the rest of today, after refusing to remove a burqa during a stunt earlier in the afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cEarlier today, the Senate voted to suspend Senator Hanson for the remainder of the sitting,\u201d the Senate president, Sue Lines, said.<\/p>\n She said she\u2019d met with Hanson, who \u201cunderstands that message from the Senate chamber\u201d.<\/p>\n The Senate has returned to normal business, but it\u2019s likely more will develop in response to Hanson\u2019s stunt.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.05 EST<\/p>\n BoM issues severe thunderstorm and flash-flooding warning over parts of Queensland<\/p>\n The Bureau of Meteorology is also warning of wild weather and possible giant thunderstorms in south-east Queensland.<\/p>\n Here is its latest warning:<\/p>\n Very dangerous thunderstorms are likely to produce large, possibly giant hailstones, damaging, locally destructive winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the Wide Bay and Burnett and Southeast Coast districts. Locations which may be affected include Maroochydore, Gympie, Noosa Heads, Nambour, Rainbow Beach and Cooroy.<\/p>\n Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in parts of the Wide Bay and Burnett and Southeast Coast districts. Locations which may be affected include Brisbane, Caboolture, and Ipswich.<\/p>\n Thunderstorm clouds gather over the Gabba in Brisbane. Photograph: Chris Hyde\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.51 EST<\/p>\n Indigenous legal services organisation condemns expanded social security bill powers<\/p>\n The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services has condemned the government\u2019s controversial social security bill, which gives police the power to recommend the cancellation of welfare payments for people charged with serious crimes.<\/p>\n The services\u2019 chair, Nerita Waight, says the bill will have a \u201cdisproportionate and grave impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people\u201d:<\/p>\n Access to social security should never be determined through a policing approach.<\/p>\n There is clear evidence that policing in Australia is not experienced equally. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately subject to racial profiling and over-policing practices.<\/p>\n This measure effectively introduces policing powers into the social security system. This represents a significant and concerning policy shift that requires full public scrutiny.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.40 EST<\/p>\n WA residents ordered to evacuate as Cyclone Fina bears down<\/p>\n Residents on Western Australia\u2019s north-east coast have been told to take shelter and prepare for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Fina.<\/p>\n Emergency WA has issued a cyclone emergency warning for Cambridge Gulf to north of Faraway Bay.<\/p>\n There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately.<\/p>\n Emergency WA has told people in this region to shelter indoors as \u201cit is too late to leave\u201d.<\/p>\n Stay in the strongest, safest part of the building. Stay away from doors and windows, and keep them closed.<\/p>\n Keep your emergency kit with you. Do not go out on the water while cyclone warnings are active as vessels can become overpowered and rescues may not be immediately possible due to the dangerous weather.<\/p>\n According to the Bureau of Meteorology\u2019s latest update, the cyclone is still producing sustained winds of up to 195km\/h with wind gusts to 270km\/h.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.31 EST<\/p>\n Sea World helicopter crash inquest opens<\/p>\n Panicking relatives and explosion risks confronted police after two joy flight helicopters collided mid-air outside a theme park, a coroner has heard.<\/p>\n Four people died<\/a> when the two Sea World choppers collided above the Gold Coast Broadwater and crashed on a sandbar in January 2023 during the busy summer holiday season.<\/p>\n Almost three years later, coroner Carol Lee on Monday opened an inquest in Brisbane into 11 critical issues surrounding one of Australia\u2019s worst air disasters.<\/p>\n Justin Dunn, a supervisor with the Gold Coast water police, arrived on scene within minutes. He appeared before the inquest:<\/p>\n It was absolute chaos, it really was.<\/p>\n Members of the public performed CPR on a woman and gave first aid to an injured young boy, Lee heard.<\/p>\n As Dunn approached an overturned aircraft, he was given a chilling warning by a concerned bystander:<\/p>\n I felt a hand on my shoulder. He said be careful of pressurised fuel lines. As they could explode.<\/p>\n It was a mangled wreck.<\/p>\n – AAP<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.19 EST<\/p>\n Hanson claims burqa stunt relates to national security but fails to produce any evidence<\/p>\n Pauline Hanson claims her bill to ban the burqa was in response to concerns about national security – but when asked repeatedly in a press conference, could not point to a single example where cultural face coverings had been a factor in national security incidents.<\/p>\n Hanson and her One Nation colleagues held a fiery press conference in Parliament House shortly after she was ejected from the Senate for refusing to remove the burqa, in a repeat of a stunt she carried out in 2017. Here\u2019s what she claimed:<\/p>\n It is a national security issue. It is about women\u2019s rights, and a lot of women are forced to wear this garb. I don\u2019t like putting this on.<\/p>\n She went on to cite alleged anecdotal examples of hearing stories of people scared to travel to the \u201cwestern suburbs of Sydney\u201d.<\/p>\n She denied she was contributing to social discord by repeating her burqa stunt, and said she was upset at not being given leave to introduce her bill to ban the burqa.<\/p>\n But asked for data about how many incidents of national security risk she was aware of relating to face coverings like the burqa, Hanson said: \u201cCan I suggest you call Asio.\u201d<\/p>\n Pressed further for any details, she could not provide any:<\/p>\n I can\u2019t answer you that question.<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764033796_864_Josh_Butler.png\")
Josh Butler<\/p>\n