Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed Friday his request for Speaker Bronwyn Bishop to reconsider the plan to confine burqa-wearing women to enclosed areas of the Parliament House.

The controversial plan Senate President Stephen Parry and Speaker of the House Bishop proposed will ensure that Muslim women who wear burqas -- face covers -- will be segregated into the glass-enclosed galleries of the Parliament normally reserved for noisy children.

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The proposal resulted in a week-long heated debate that was further worsened by Abbott's earlier comment on how he finds the burqa "confronting."

Parliamentary leaders decided on Thursday, which immediately drew mixed reactions from Australian lawmakers.

Greens Senator Richard Di Natale has referred to the measure as an attack against Muslim women, citing that it could potentially create "some sort of Muslim apartheid," an Australian online news media quoted him as saying.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie was equally critical of the move. He said in a statement that isolating one group in their own rooms give them "no security merit at all."

Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, had earlier accused Abbott of poor leadership on the burqa issue. He also demanded an explanation for the need to keep persons behind shielded areas after they have been screened and identified.

The presiding officers were reportedly requested by Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi, who sought for a total ban on burqa in Parliament grounds. Senator Parry justified the proposed security measure by saying it prevents people from disguising themselves in the House.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the prime minister's intervention was "wise." He said debates like this must not be allowed to drag on as these might turn into coded attacks against the Australian Muslim community.

Still, other politicians like George Christensen openly support the ban on burqas.

He took to Twitter Wednesday, warning "lovers of women's faces being covered" should not expect for a back down on the presiding officers' ruling.

While the Prime Minister Abbott has no veto power over security measures in the Parliament, it is quite unlikely that Bishop and Parry would ignore his wishes, Christensen implied.

Tagspolitics, Members of the Australian House of Representatives, Members of the Australian Senate, clothing, Burqa, Tony Abbott, Bronwyn Bishop