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An Australian senator provoked an angry backlash from lawmakers by wearing a burqa
in Parliament on Thursday as part of her campaign for a national ban on Islamic face covers. Pauline Hanson, leader of the anti-Muslim, anti-immigration One Nation minor party, sat wearing the black head-to-ankle garment for more than 10 minutes before taking it off as she rose to explain that she wanted such outfits banned on national security grounds. “There has been a large majority of Australians (who) wish to see the banning of the burqa,” said Hanson, an outspoken fan of US President Donald Trump, as senators objected. Attorney-General George Brandis drew applause when he said his government would not ban the burqa, and chastised Hanson for what he described as a stunt that offended Australia’s Muslim minority. “To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to mock its religious garb"