Burqa ban in Australia

There are currently 14 nations that have banned the burqa and niqab, including Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands,[1] Latvia,[2] Bulgaria,[3] Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Gabon, China and Morocco.

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 23 June 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,[4] including the burqa and niqab.

[8] 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.

[12] Politicians such as Cory Bernardi,[13] George Christensen, Jacqui Lambie, Mark Latham, Pauline Hanson and Tony Abbott[14] have openly advocated for a ban on the burqa, either in public places or in all settings (depending on the person).