The independent Speaker of Queensland's parliament says One Nation should pursue a new bill to ban the burqa from government buildings, banks and schools.
Peter Wellington says Steve Dickson, who defected from the LNP to One Nation last week, should pursue the reform after his own bill in 2014 failed.
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Burqa ban 'already exists'
The Premier rejects Pauline Hanson's call for a burqa ban, saying people must already show their full face inside government buildings. 7 News Queensland
The Queensland Premier and Queensland Council of Civil Liberties dismissed the suggestion.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson this week said she'd move to prohibit burqas in specific areas if she wins the upcoming Queensland state election.
Mr Wellington failed in 2014 to drum up enough support for his bill, which would have given police and other authorities the power to order people to remove face coverings for the purposes of identification.
"I would support Pauline Hanson's proposal," the Speaker told ABC radio on Wednesday.
"Of course the devil is in the detail. But I think in 2017, people if they're going out in public, need to have their face identifiable.
"We need to be able to continue to walk down the street without fear of intimidation, without having to look over our shoulders, and look at people who have their whole face covered."
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has dismissed Ms Hanson's plan, saying there are already measures in place to achieve what she's proposing.
The premier says Queensland adheres to a series of national procedures and policies requiring people to show their full face when entering government buildings, and that was also true for driver's licences.
"So I don't know what she's particularly talking about when this already exists," Ms Palaszczuk said on Tuesday.
Queensland Council of Civil Liberties president Michael Cope said banning was burqa was an unjustified violation of established rights.
"People in our society are free to wear what they like, so long as they are wearing something, absent specific compelling circumstances such as safety and security," he said.
The council had no issue with people being forced to show their faces at airports and banks or for driver's licences, which were important safety and security measures.
"It is often said that a ban on the Burqa will help women liberate themselves. Banning burqa wearing women from public institutions will ultimately result in them avoiding such places entirely. That is not liberation," he said.
AAP
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