Banning the burka is an accelerating trend

Prime Minister Turnbull has conceded that people should be required to show their face for "security and identification purposes" but added, "In Australia we've never had a practice of telling people what they should wear."

In August 2017 when One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson wore a burka into the Senate she was strongly attacked by then Attorney-General Senator George Brandis who said of the move, " ... to mock (Islamic) religious garments is an appalling thing to do." He received a standing ovation from ALP, Green and some cross-bench Senators although the reaction on government benches was much more muted - some scattered clapping but certainly no standing ovation which suggested that at least some government senators were uneasy about the passion and strength of Senator Brandis' attack.

Clearly, the momentum towards a total ban is gathering pace in Europe and even in African countries which have been subjected to terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists. Italy's new government, which has pledged to deport hundreds of thousands of illegal, mostly Muslim, immigrants, is tipped to also introduce a burka and niqab ban.

Given the overwhelming evidence, there is no appetite for turning back that gathering consensus and the growing threat of Muslim extremism will only serve to accelerate these bans.