Court to make decision on Pauline Hanson's 'discriminatory' social media post.

Soon, Pauline Hanson will receive a verdict on whether her comments towards a Muslim senator were considered racist under the law. The senator in question, Mehreen Faruqi, took legal action against Hanson after a tweet from September 2022, where Hanson told her to "go back to Pakistan." The alleged hate speech was in response to a post by Faruqi on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's passing.

The Greens deputy leader had expressed her inability to mourn the death of a leader from a "racist empire" that was built on the lives, land, and wealth of colonized peoples. The case was brought to the Federal Court and was presided over by Justice Angus Stewart for four days. During the trial, Hanson claimed that she was not aware of Faruqi's Muslim identity when she sent the tweet. However, Faruqi presented evidence that showed her public identification as Muslim on several occasions, including in communications with Hanson.

One such example was a pinned tweet where Faruqi stated, "I'm Muslim," and a podcast episode where Hanson appeared as a guest, and the host referred to her as Muslim. In addition, Faruqi had also tagged Hanson in a tweet in 2018, asking if she was a good or bad Muslim. Despite this evidence, Hanson denied any racial discrimination and argued that her tweet was simply a form of political discourse. She claimed to have pointed out the hypocrisy of the Greens deputy in criticizing the monarchy while benefiting from living in Australia, a country she immigrated to.

Now, the wait is over as Justice Stewart is set to deliver the verdict today. The court will determine whether Hanson's tweet was a form of racial discrimination, any potential damages that may result from it, and also address her argument that certain parts of the Racial Discrimination Act may not be constitutional. The outcome of this case will have significant implications and will serve as a precedent for future cases involving racial discrimination.

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