Labor and the Coalition have joined together to suspend Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe from the Senate for the remainder of the sitting week, after she ripped up a motion by Pauline Hanson on the chamber floor and gave senators the middle finger.
Speaking to the motion, leader of government business Penny Wong said "too often debate in this place is turning to aggression, to hateful and personal attacks, and there have been multiple instances of Senator Thorpe making inappropriate and sometimes abusive comments towards other senators."
"All Australians have a right to feel safe at work… this behaviour would not be tolerated in any workplace, and we will not tolerate it in our workplace," she said.
"This fortnight alone the senator has been censured, she has sworn in the chamber, repeatedly made offensive gestures when leaving the chamber and made comments resulting in First Nation senators from across this chamber feeling culturally unsafe, and all of that was prior to today's incident, which culminated in Senator Thorpe tearing up papers and throwing them at another senator on the Senate floor."
The motion passed 45 votes to 11, with the Greens Party voting against — in solidarity with their former colleague.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe called Senator Pauline Hanson a racist and threw documents. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
A furious row erupted in the Senate after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson questioned Independent Senator Fatima Payman's eligibility to sit in Parliament.
— accused Senator Hanson of racism, while Lidia Thorpe called her "disgusting" while leaving the Chamber, putting up her middle finger as she left.
Outside the chamber, Thorpe said of Hanson "absolutely anything that comes out of her mouth is motivated by racism."
Senate president Sue Lines has said while debate was expected in the chamber, "physically threatening behaviour will not be tolerated", referring to Thorpe tossing documents in Hanson's direction.
"It is incredibly disappointing that three years into the implementation of
, senators appear all too ready to descend into disorder rather than seeking to conduct themselves in a safe and respectful manner. We must do better," she said.
The suspension will see Thorpe blocked from moving a private member's bill on genocide on Thursday, which seeks to remove the Attorney-General's power to block prosecution of genocide or war crimes."
Senator Hanson said everyone had the right to feel safe at work and to not be intimidated or threatened.
"I hope this does send a clear message to Senator Thorpe," she said.
"She's been given the opportunity to hold a very special place in this parliament, and to act on behalf of all Australians who want clear, decisive representation with equality, not about race."
Senator Thorpe's staff walked out of the chamber as Senator Hanson rose to speak.
Coalition Senate leader Simon Birmingham described the motion as a "line in the sand" after the Victorian senator had "crossed a line" earlier.
He said it was "beyond disappointing" the Greens had voted it down, accusing them of a "shameful double standard".
Defending the decision taken by the Greens, Senate leader Larissa Waters said the party did not think denying her from a day of voting was an "appropriate and proportionate response".
"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.
With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press
