Federal police said this week they had “received reports of an offence” related to Pauline Hanson’s comments to the media.
But an AFP spokesman did not say whether they had opened a criminal investigation, saying they would say more “in due course”.
Bilal El-Hayek, mayor of Canterbury Bankstown in western Sydney, said on Friday the One Nation leader would face charges over her “extremely inflammatory” comments about Muslims.
According to the 2021 census, more than 23% of the El-Hayek council area is Muslim. He told the ABC on Friday that hate speech laws were “very clear” about the intent to publicly provoke people based on attributes including race, religion or gender.
On Monday night, discussing failed attempts to repatriate Australian women and children trapped in Syria, Hanson said: “You say, ‘Well, there are good Muslims.’ How can you tell me there are good Muslims?
Hanson has not retracted the comments, although she has offered a few more comments framed as a conditional apology. In one of the later interviews she also identified Lakemba, a suburb of Canterbury-Bankstown, as somewhere people “feel unwanted” and “don’t want to be”.
El-Hayek said “[Hanson’s] The target is obviously the Muslim people”.
“There is no doubt that her comments will provoke someone,” he said.
One of Australia’s largest mosques – Lakemba – received its third threatening letter in weeks on Wednesday ahead of the first night of prayers in Islam’s holiest month. NSW Police are investigating the incident, with a man charged over a letter sent to the mosque in January.
Asked if they were investigating Hanson’s comments, an Australian Federal Police spokesman said “AFP is aware of comments made in a media interview earlier this week”.
“AFP has received criminal reports regarding this matter. Further comment will be made in due course.”
Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said on Friday he disagreed with Hanson’s recent comments about Muslims.
“I always shy away from people who think it’s about anything other than protecting our life and focusing on our core values,” he told reporters.
“It doesn’t matter if people want to come to our country [their] religion, [if] They don’t believe what we believe, then we have to close their doors.”
Taylor was visiting Melbourne’s Addas synagogue, which was bombed in a 2024 anti-Semitic attack linked to Iran by the domestic spy agency. Asked if Hanson should apologize for her comments, the new opposition leader said that was a matter for the One Nation senator.
Hanson’s comments were widely criticized. Hanson’s One Nation colleague Barnaby Joyce refused to endorse them on Wednesday.
The Albanian government’s racial discrimination commissioner this week called on Hanson to apologize for her comments, saying she targeted Muslims and that her comments would have a lasting impact.
Both Anthony Albanese this week made a link between Hanson’s comments and the potential for threats of violence. The NSW Premier, Chris Minnes, said Hanson’s comments could “raise tensions”.
On Wednesday, Hanson issued a conditional apology if she offended anyone who does not believe in Sharia law, or polygamy, or wants to bring ISIS brides from Gaza who believe in the caliphate.
Hanson has previously faced criticism for insulting Muslims by wearing a burqa in the Senate chamber last year. She was suspended from the chamber for seven days.
Hanson has been contacted for comment.
