@socratease: "If the Muslims were given the right to the niqab and the burqa and one day they were able to make Australian an Islamic country ..."

You are conflating things given with things tolerated. No one is "giving" anyone the right to wear anything. We already have the freedom (as opposed to the "right") to live as we please within proscribed limits of not harming others, and that includes expressing, or not expressing, religious beliefs and customs we may have.

Being able to wear religious headdress is a freedom. Being able to "make Australia an Islamic country" is a power over the rest of us. Don't confuse freedom with power, they are not the same.

"Being able to wear religious headdress is a freedom."

Yes, all should be free to wear the burqa: men, Christians, the non-religious.

What a ridiculous article. Since when did people need to identify themselves in public? Maybe in North Korea but certainly not in Australia. I can't imagine why anyone would want the government to be dictating what we can and can't wear. It amazes me how many people out there don't seem to appreciate the freedoms we have. Of course the thing about freedom is that not everyone makes the same choices.
With regards to Australia becoming an Islamic state, that is just ridiculous. Our way of life and the freedoms and choices it offers us is far more attractive than any fundamentalist religious way of life. The surprising thing about the Burka is that there is anyone actually wearing it. Having said that I haven't seen anyone wearing one in at least several years here in Western Australia. Probably because we have the freedom not to in this country.

But what about assimilation?
How are Muslim women going to assimilate and interbreed with White men if they're all covered up?
Ditto Muslim men, if they're required to be covered from neck to knee how are all the White girls going to see what's on offer?
But then If they're going to interbreed and assimilate then they're not going to be able to keep their religion, either that or their White partner will have to give up their culture and convert.
Remember how I pointed out that the First Australian Genocide left an irreconcilable mess?
How big is the disaster going to be after the Second Australian Genocide,the White Genocide? There's 18 million of us.
ASSIMILATION
IT WON"T WORK SO WHY DO IT?

Another problem not considered by those who want to coerce women into freedom: What if some ultra-traditionalist communities react to a ban by imprisoning women within houses or gated communities to hide them from the authorities?

At least now, women are able to move around in public and have contact with other women not wearing burqas. That gives them a starting point to contemplate rebelling or leaving home if they so wish. Living in a free country - having a right to the protection of the law and access to things like womens' shelters - gives them the freedom to do so if they choose it.

@socratease, your ugly display of hatred towards all things Islamic strips the mask of benevolence from the anti-burqa lobby to reveal it for what it is. This call to ban the burqa has nothing to do with emancipation or public safety; these are just pretexts for stomping on a culture which some people are uncomfortable with.

All those females who wish to wear these absurd garments should export themselves to countries where they are acceptable.They are offensive to the Australian culture and are certainly not part of a civil society anywhere.