Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe says racism in the Senate is routine, arguing many in the chamber "consistently fail to recognise or call it out".
On Wednesday, a motion moved by Mehreen Faruqi on behalf of herself and Senator Thorpe, seeking to refer behaviour in the Senate to the Senate Standing Committee on Procedure, was voted down.
The motion asked the committee to examine whether changes to the language and interpretation of standing orders are needed "to eliminate language, behaviour, decision-making and practices that are sexist, racist or otherwise exclusionary and discriminatory".
A similar motion brought by the two senators in 2024 was supported by the government and referred to the committee, but no report was delivered before the last election.
Government Senate leader Katy Gallagher said that while the "conduct and behaviour of senators in this place has deteriorated to an unacceptable level," the government would not support the motion. She argued that referring the issue to the committee would not be a "solution to remedy that behaviour".
In a statement, Senator Thorpe said the motion's defeat demonstrated how "racist attitudes have taken hold and grown in this Parliament," and claimed the government's position had "hardened against people of colour".
The decision — which came only hours before the government announced an inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Peoples — showed the major parties' response to the rise of One Nation had been to adopt rather than challenge racist attitudes, she said.
"In 2024, Labor teamed up with the Coalition to hijack our motion and set up a sham inquiry that never even held a meeting. At least at that point they worried about looking bad," the Victorian Senator argued.
"Now they won't even pretend they care about addressing racism and the experiences of brown women in the workplace."
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The motion comes after a heated exchange in the Senate on Monday when Senator Hanson — later censured over comments last month that there are no "good muslims" — allegedly swore at Senator Thorpe.
After speaking on another matter, the Victorian Senator said she was "called a bitch by the racist".
Responding to a speech by Senator Hanson — who in 2024 was found to have breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act over social media comments directed at Senator Faruqi — Senator Thorpe called the far-right senator an "absolute disgrace", asking: "What are you saying...that my people are raping babies?" before urging Senate President Sue Lines to "stop racism".
In a statement, Senator Thorpe said racism in the Senate is "routine," arguing senators "dogwhistle and demonise people of colour in speeches" while many — including the President — do not have a "good understanding of what is and isn't racist, and consistently fail to recognise or call it out".
"This workplace is not safe for women of colour, and for young people entering politics the level of racism we see here is a major barrier and a turn off," she said.
Senator Faruqi said that while Labor speaks strongly about combating racism, "come crunch time, they refuse to act".
"The hypocrisy and double standards of this Labor government are on full display when they are quicker to silence those calling out racism than the racism itself," she said.
"It seems, for Labor, the experiences of black and brown women in the chamber who have the courage to stand up to them just don't count. They try to silence us at every opportunity."
