High court agrees to hear Hanson appeal in Faruqi racial discrimination case

Australia’s high court has granted Pauline Hanson permission to appeal a finding that she racially discriminated against Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi by telling her to return to Pakistan. The One Nation leader secured special leave on Thursday, 5 November, after the full federal court unanimously upheld the original ruling earlier in 2026.

The appeal will consider whether Hanson’s remarks violated the Racial Discrimination Act and whether the federal court’s decision interfered with her implied freedom of speech. Welcoming the development on social media, Hanson, 72, described the dispute as extending beyond her own circumstances and a single tweet. She argued that Australians should be free to challenge governments and express disagreement without fear of being silenced.

Hanson also linked her concerns about freedom of expression to Labor’s digital duty of care bill, which she claimed threatened lawful online discussion. Faruqi responded to the appeal announcement with the words: “Bring it on.” She said the lengthy legal fight had been shared with others subjected to racism and that she would continue it.

Faruqi said the high court could establish that people in Australia were protected against racism. She argued that people of colour, migrants and Muslims deserved safety in their own country, and that the legal system needed to protect them against vilification when they faced attacks and demonisation.

A spokesperson for federal attorney general Michelle Rowland said section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act had become more important than ever for Australia’s social cohesion. The spokesperson declined further comment because proceedings remained before the court, while reiterating the government’s opposition to racism and racial hatred.

The dispute began after Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022. In a tweet, Faruqi offered condolences to those who knew the monarch but said she could not mourn the leader of an empire she described as racist and founded on colonial dispossession. She also called for a treaty with First Nations, justice and reparations for British colonies, and an Australian republic. Hanson replied by criticising Faruqi’s attitude, referring to her migration, citizenship, property ownership and parliamentary employment, and telling her to leave for Pakistan.

In November 2024, Justice Angus Stewart ruled that Hanson’s response was unlawful. He found it depicted Faruqi as a lesser citizen who had benefited from Australia and should therefore remain grateful and silent. Stewart characterised the demand that she return to Pakistan as a racist trope and found that Hanson’s public profile likely encouraged others to make similar or more severe remarks.

Stewart rejected the argument that Faruqi’s comments about the Queen justified Hanson’s response. He also ruled that the fair comment exemption did not apply because the tweet constituted an angry personal attack. Federal court judges Melissa Perry, Geoffrey Kennett and Elizabeth Bennett unanimously upheld his judgment in July 2026.