Burka ban in Australia


In Australia, there is an ongoing debate over the possibility of a ban on the wearing of burqa, a conservative form of dress for Islamic women. There are currently 14 nations that have banned the burqa, including Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Gabon, China and Morocco.

Summary of the debate

In September 2011, Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, passed the Identification Legislation Amendment Act 2011 requiring a person to remove a face covering if asked by a state official. The law is viewed as a response to a court case in 2011 where a woman in Sydney was convicted of falsely claiming that a traffic policeman had tried to remove her niqab.
Following the Moscow theatre hostage crisis in 2002, Australian politician Fred Nile asked whether the then state minister of police would consider banning full-body coverings like those worn by the Chechen terrorists from parliament and public gathering places in order to prevent the carriage of weapons or explosive devices. On June 23, 2010, Nile introduced a bill into the Legislative Council to criminalize the public wearing of any face covering which prevents the identification of the wearer, including the burqa and niqab. He again in 2014 put up a bill that would ban the burqa and niqab.
In 2010, Senator Cory Bernardi wrote an opinion piece calling for a ban on wearing the burqa in public.
In September 2014, Senator Jacqui Lambie announced plans to introduce a private member's bill aimed at banning the burqa in Australia. In February 2017, she introduced a private member's bill which would amend the Criminal Code Act 1995 to make it illegal to wear full-face coverings in public places when a terrorism threat declaration is in force, unless it was necessary for certain purposes.

Notable advocates

DateFirmYesNoUndecidedSample sizeNotes
23 August 2017Sky News/ReachTEL31%12%2,832