Lidia Thorpe suspended from Senate for throwing papers at Pauline Hanson during tense debate

Lidia Thorpe has been suspended from the Senate for the rest of the week after she tore up papers and threw them at Pauline Hanson during a tense parliamentary debate.

Senate President Sue Lines sanctioned Senator Thorpe on Wednesday night for disorderly conduct she described as “physically threatening”, which then allowed the Government to move the independent senator be suspended.

Senator Thorpe had repeatedly heckled speakers during the debate, including shouting, “You’re a convicted racist” at Senator Hanson — referring to a court case brought by Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi against the One Nation leader — before storming out with her middle finger raised.

Senator Lines said she had informed Senator Thorpe that she would be making a statement, but Senator Thorpe declined to attend the Senate where she could have offered an explanation, apology, or voted on her suspension.

Government Senate leader Penny Wong said Senator Thorpe should be suspended until the end of tomorrow - the last scheduled sitting day of the year — because she had engaged in “aggression” and “hateful personal attacks”.

She said the “gravity of the conduct” required suspension, and pointed to “multiple instances of Senator Thorpe making inappropriate, sometimes abusive comments towards other senators”.

Senator Wong accused her of having “increasingly engaged in such behaviour” and said all senators and staff had a right to feel safe in their workplace.

Labor and the Coalition voted to suspend her, as did Senator Hanson and her One Nation colleague Malcolm Roberts, UAP senator Ralph Babet, and independents Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock. The Greens voted against.

Coalition Senate leader Simon Birmingham thanked the Senate for “finally” drawing a line in the sand to the “reprehensible and repeated disruptive and disrespectful conduct of Senator Thorpe”.

“This decision relates to the incident that occurred this morning, which well and truly crossed a line... but it was a pattern of escalating and disrespectful behaviour, escalatory behaviour on repeated occasions that showed complete and repeated disrespect for you (Senator Lines), for all senators, and created a workplace environment for (everyone) where they felt uncomfortable or potentially worse,” he said.

Greens Senate leader Larissa Waters said the party did not condone physical violence and found Senator Thorpe’s actions as inappropriate, but did not think suspending her was the right course of action.

“I would like to add that a number of people in this place often feel unsafe in this workplace, a number of our senators feel unsafe due to the conduct of Senator Thorpe and a number of senators in this place feel unsafe due to the conduct of Senator Hanson,” she said.

Senator Thorpe’s office was contacted for comment.

Senator Thorpe’s actions were sparked when Senator Hanson sought to question Fatima Payman’s eligibility to sit in the Senate.

It prompted Senator Payman to accuse Senator Hanson of “vile” racisim, telling the Queenslander she brought “disgrace to the human race” as the One Nation leader continued her calls for an investigation into whether Senator Payman falls foul of section 44 of the constitution, which prevents foreigners and dual-citizens from sitting in Parliament.

Senator Payman - who was eight when her family fled Kabul - addressed the issue before 2022 election, explaining that her attempts to renounce her Afghan citizenship could not be completed because the Afghanistan embassy in Australia had no contact with the new Taliban regime.

She received legal advice at the time confirming she took “all reasonable steps” to hand back her Afghan citizenship, meaning she was eligible.

Senator Hanson on Wednesday morning won Senate approval to table a letter from Senator Lines regarding Senator Payman’s eligibility, which she wanted referred to a parliamentary committee for investigation.

The major parties allowed Senator Hanson to table the documents as a matter of procedure, not because they supported her pursuit of Senator Payman.

In her response to Senator Hanson’s letter, Senator Lines said she could not take the matter further because it did not meet the requirements for the Senate to consider questions about eligibility.

Before the letter was tabled, Senator Payman defended her eligibility while unleashing a blistering attack on Senator Hanson.

“You’re not just vindictive, mean, nasty – you bring disgrace to the human race,” she said.

“You have no dignity whatsoever as a Senator in this prestigious place, where we’re supposed to bring unity, where we’re supposed to have that freedom of expression, yes, but within boundaries of confinement of respect.”

Holding a copy of the legal advice that confirmed her eligibility, Senator Payman challenged Senator Hanson – who once wore a burqa as a stunt in the Senate – to “pack her burqa and go to Afghanistan and talk to the Taliban” about her case.

“Do you want to see it (the advice) for yourself?” Senator Payman said.

“You’re in absolute denial. All that Senator Hanson does in this place is spread hatred, spread division because that’s what you’re made to do here.”

One Nation used the incident with Senator Thorpe to ask for donations, sending an email to supporters claiming “the extremist left has now launched their campaign of physical intimidation in Parliament”.

A later vote on Senator Hanson’s formal motion to refer Senator Payman’s background to an investigation failed 35-3.