One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her stunt to wear a burqa to the Senate today, which has drawn condemnation from all sides of politics, was about having the garment banned in Australia.

Senators were visibly shocked when Senator Hanson entered the chamber this afternoon, with one heard asking, "what on earth?"

The stunt drew anger from both sides of the aisle, with Oppostion Leader Bill Shorten labelling Senator Hanson "beneath contempt" in a tweet.

Crossbencher Derryn Hinch questioned whether Senator Hanson could remain in the chamber.

"I understand that she is not a Muslim, not of Islamic faith. Can I appear tomorrow in fancy dress unchallenged?" he asked the president.

Pauline Hanson wearing a burqa in the Senate. (AAP)

Pauline Hanson is seen in the Senate wearing a burqa.

Senate President Stephen Parry said Senator Hanson's identity had been confirmed before she entered the chamber.

After leaving the chamber for a short moment, Senator Hanson returned to ask a question of Attorney-General George Brandis.

"I'm quite happy to remove this because this is not what should be in this parliament," she said.

"My question to Senator Brandis, in light of our national security of this nation, will you work to ban the burqa in Australia?

"In light of what is happening with national security, there have been 13 foiled national threats against us with terrorism, three that have been successful and Australians have lost their lives.

Senator Hanson removed the burqa before speaking. (AAP)

"Terrorism is a true threat to our country and Australians are very much in fear of it."

Senator Brandis launched a fierce attack on Senator Hanson for the "appalling" stunt, earning a standing ovation from Labor and the Greens .

"Senator Hanson, I am not going to pretend to ignore the stunt that you have tried to pull today by arriving in the chamber dressed in a burqa when we all know you are not an adherent of the Islamic faith," Senator Brandis said.

"I would caution and counsel you with respect to be very, very careful of the offence you may do to the religious sensibilities of other Australians.

"We have about 500,000 Australians in this country of the Islamic faith and the vast majority of them are law-abiding, good Australians.

Pauline Hanson is seen in the Senate wearing a burqa.

Pauline Hanson is seen in the Senate wearing a burqa.

"Senator Hanson, it is absolutely consistent with being a good, law-abiding Australian and being a strict adherent Muslim."

One Nation released a statement to the media after Ms Hanson's stunt, which said the Senator "wished to raise the issue of full face covering presenting a security threat not only to Parliament House, but also to the greater Australian public".

"Senator Hanson said that she believed that full face covering, such as the burqa, were oppressive, presented barriers to assimilation, disadvantaged women from finidng employment, were causing issues inside our justice system, presented a clear security threat and had no place in modern Western society," the statement read.

"Senator Hanson said that this was a debate that was happening across the world and Australia could not hide form a difficult conversation out of fear of causing offence."

Ms Hanson's stunt caps a bizarre week in Australian politics, after Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was revealed to have New Zealand citizenship.

The revelation prompted the government, led by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, to accuse Labor of colluding with the New Zealand government to undermine to Coalition.