Greens deputy leader Senator Mehreen Faruqi has launched legal action against One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson over a tweet telling Senator Faruqi to "pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan".
The was in response to comments made by the Greens deputy leader following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
The deputy Greens leader has filed paperwork in the Federal Court, suing Senator Hanson for unlawful offensive behaviour over the tweet.
Senator Faruqi is seeking compensation in the form of Senator Hanson being restricted from publicly using the phrases "piss off back to Pakistan" and "go back to where you came from" or any other variations of those phrases.
The Australian-Pakistani senator also wants to make Senator Hanson remove the tweet and pin a new tweet to her Twitter account for three months stating that she has been found to have committed unlawful offensive behaviour against Senator Faruqi on the basis of race.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Source: AAP / Paul Braven
Senator Faruqi, who moved to Australia from Pakistan in 1992, said Senator Hanson's comments were triggering for many migrants.
"Senator Hanson has hurt migrant communities of colour for too long with her damaging and hurtful brand of hate that is intended to vilify, silence and humiliate," Senator Faruqi said.
"This court action is about holding her accountable and using the Racial Discrimination Act to prevent her from engaging in bigoted conduct that hurts people in the future.
“I am determined to take action. Doing nothing or staying silent is not an option because people who have faced the sear of racism want to see discrimination called out, held to account and eradicated.
“Like many migrants and people of colour in this country, I've been told to ‘go back to where I come from’ hundreds of times and it never gets easier. Being told to go back to where we come from is the ultimate racist dog whistle because it tries to rob you of your belonging to the place you call home and paints you as ‘un-Australian,’" she said.
Senator Pauline Hanson is being sued by Senator Mehreen Faruqi for tweeting "pack your bags and piss off back to Pakistan" in response to comments made by the Greens deputy leader following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
“Senator Hanson telling me to … ’piss off back to Pakistan’ was insulting and humiliating enough, but it also unleashed a frenzy of hate and abuse targeted at me for days. The pain, in fact, is like putting salt on the open wounds of racism I already carry from past attacks," Senator Faruqi said.
“‘Go back to where you came from’ is a racial slur most of us have endured. It never gets easier to deal with racist attacks. It hurts every time. It questions my belonging to a place which has been home to me for 31 years and shakes my sense of worth. It is insulting and it is humiliating, but then, that is exactly what it is intended to be.
“Racism takes an immense toll on our mental and physical health and that of our loved ones around us.”
Senator Faruqi previously which was accepted in October.
However, the complaint was terminated by the AHRC in March after Senator Hanson refused to participate in a conciliation process.
Senator Faruqi and The Greens also attempted to censure the federal One Nation leader, but the motion was amended by the government and opposition to instead condemn all forms of racism.
Senator Hanson isn't the only One Nation politician with legal issues. over a homophobic tweet unless he received an apology from Mr Latham.
