Respect needed, not stunts: Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull says "mutual respect" is critical not only to the success of Australia's multicultural society, but national security.

The prime minister said One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's wearing of a burqa in the Senate on Thursday was a "stunt".

"Mutual respect is not just the foundation of our success as a multicultural society, it's the foundation of our national security," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Friday.