Lidia Thorpe reveals she was ‘assaulted’ at the MCG

Lidia Thorpe has revealed she was brutally assaulted at the MCG earlier this year, as she faces widespread criticism for her controversial King protest.

Lidia Thorpe has defended her record of attendance in federal parliament this year, claiming she missed a third of the sitting year due to being “assaulted” at an iconic sports ground.

The Victorian senator hit back at reports of her attending 28 of 44 sitting days in the Senate as critics circle after her controversial heckling of King Charles earlier this week.

She has since hit back, claiming to have required spinal surgery after being the victim of an assault at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but did not disclose when this is said to have occured.

“Earlier this year I was assaulted at the MCG. I sustained serious nerve and spinal injuries in my neck, which required spinal surgery and a plate to be inserted in the back of my neck,” she said.

“There’s a scar on the front of my neck from this. I was ordered by the doctor not to travel and could not attend parliament. My doctor told me to take time off work. There is currently a police investigation under way.

“It’s unfortunate that I have been pushed to disclose this to defend myself, when I would have preferred to keep this private, but that’s just another day in the ­colony for you.”

Victoria Police has been contacted for comment.

The news comes after a letter emerged showing Ms Thorpe had “respectfully” requested a personal meeting with King Charles to discuss a path to Treaty more than a year ago.

The outspoken senator was on Thursday branded “the most loathed woman in parliament” after her controversial outburst this week during Charles’ fist visit to Australia since his coronation.

She cried “f*** the colony” and “you are not my king” before being escorted from Parliament House’s Great Hall during a ceremony in Canberra on Monday.

Now Ms Thorpe’s March 2023 letter addressed to the monarch at Buckingham Palace has been published online, in which she wanted to explore “the possibility of a meeting and co-operation going forward”.

Ms Thorpe – a Djab Wurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjama woman – is a leader of the Blak Sovereign Movement and fierce critic of colonialism.

Senator Lidia Thorpe heckles King Charles. Picture: Victoria Jones/Getty Images

Her 2023 letter sent to the King.

Sent before then-Prince Charles became Charles III in May, her letter stated a “war was declared on my people” 200 years ago and described an “attempted genocide” on First Nations peoples.

Ms Thorpe went on to say “we yearn for nothing more than peace” and that “Treaty can bring us peace”.

“Sir, in light of your commitment to decolonisation, I respectfully request a meeting with you in person, if possible before your Majesty’s coronation, to discuss the possibility of the Crown entering into a Treaty with Australia’s First Nations people,” she wrote.

“This reconciliation with Australia’s First Peoples could be an incredible legacy for you, Sir, to start your reign as King with.”

The independent senator has faced a public grilling since heckling of the King, but has refused to back down.

“I wanted to send a message to the King. I got that message across. The whole world is talking about it,” she said on Nine’s Today show this week.

“And my people are happy because my people have been protesting for decades and decades. As you all know, for exactly this. And so the message has been sent, delivered. Now it’s up to the King of England to respond.”

Ms Thorpe has also claimed to have sworn an oath to “the Queen’s hairs” rather than heirs, in an act of protest against the oath of allegiance.

“If you listen close enough, it wasn’t her ‘heirs’, it was her ‘hairs’ that I was giving my allegiance to, and now that, y’know, they are no longer here, I don’t know where that stands,” she told the ABC.

“I’m not giving up my job, I’m not resigning.”

King Charles III and Queen Camilla bid farewell at Sydney Airport on Wednesday. Picture: Bianca De Marchi-Pool/Getty Images

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has compared Ms Thorpe’s “oath breaking” to an illegal act in a courtroom.

“So if it was happening in a court of law where you breached your oath, that’s contempt, that’s perjury, that’s a criminal offence,” Ms McKenzie said.

“And so I think there are some legitimate questions to be asked about this and what is the consequence of Senator Thorpe’s action from a constitutional perspective.”

Federal Minister Katy Gallagher has said she would “work with people across the chamber about what the appropriate response is” to Ms Thorpe’s outburst.

Originally published as Lidia Thorpe reveals she was ‘assaulted’ at the MCG