‘The real sovereigns’: Senator Lidia Thorpe’s defiant message after outburst against King Charles
Controversial Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has made a pointed statement in the aftermath of her shock outburst against King Charles.
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Controversial Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has tweeted a defiant message in the aftermath of her shock outburst against King Charles at Parliament House.
Ms Thorpe posted images and quotes from Aboriginal elders on Wednesday alongside a pointed message describing them as “the reveal sovereigns of this country”.
“Words from my elders — the real sovereigns of this country,” Ms Thorpe posted. “My voice is not solitary; it echoes the urgent calls for treaty and truth-telling from those who have fought for justice before me.”
Ms Thorpe featured images of several elders including Aunty Barbara Flick, who was quoted as saying, “Lidia is the only Indigenous person in parliament who has the guts to talk about these matters.
“We don’t have the kind of access that Lidia does, she can take the message not only to the seat of colonisers but also to the international community.”
Words from my Elders - the real Sovereigns of this country.
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) October 23, 2024
My voice is not solitary; it echoes the urgent calls for Treaty and Truth-Telling from those who have fought for justice before me. pic.twitter.com/pY2Su7wIEi
It came after Ms Thorpe made global headlines when she was removed from the building for screaming at King Charles after his address to Parliament on Tuesday.
The following day, the renegade senator clashed on-air with British Sky News host Kay Burley, who demanded to know why she had accused King Charles of “genocide”.
When asked what had prompted her actions, Senator Thorpe said it was “global truth telling about the royals who caused so much devastation to not only our people in this country but Indigenous people around the world”.
Senator Thorpe claimed “bones and skulls” were still in “his family’s possession” as she called for a treaty.
“We want that back, we want our land back and we want the King to take some leadership and sit at the table and discuss a treaty with us because a treaty is what will bring us peace.’
Burley then asked why Ms Thorpe interrupted the King and called him a “genocidalist”.
Burley said: “He recognised grievances in his speech, and you interrupted him and called him a genocidalist. Why is this the best way to deal with this?”
Senator Thorpe was visibly annoyed as she replied that she “did not once interrupt his speech, I respectfully waited right until the end”.
TV presenter Burley cut Ms Thorpe’s microphone off, telling her she only had so much time, before asking again why she had used the term “genocidalist”.
“There’s thousands of massacre sites in this country from invasion and someone needs to answer for that and he is the successor and he needs to answer,” Senator Thorpe said.
Burley said: “One of your colleagues described you as abusing your position and your intervention was disgraceful, how do you respond to that?”
Ms Thorpe replied that she would continue to “fight for justice for my people, we are the real sovereigns in this country”.
She told the British TV host: “The King is not our sovereign, the King lives in your country, he’s from your country — he can’t be our King,’ she said.
The senator said she was being portrayed as an “angry black woman”.
“Well yeah I’m angry. I’m angry because I see too many of our people dying, too many people incarcerated,” she said.
“We don’t have any land, your King and his previous kings and queens stole that from us and we want it back and we won’t stop resisting.”
Senator Thorpe then said the interview was over, prompting a laugh from Burley.
‘SO-CALLED KING’: THORPE DEFENDS OUTBURST
Controversial Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has defended her outburst against King Charles, saying the monarch needs to apologise for what his ancestors did to “my people”.
“We’re talking about fit and healthy individuals who should not have died in custody,”
Ms Thorpe told ABC radio.
When asked why that was the monarch’s responsibility, Ms Thorpe said “he is the so-called King and he should be showing leadership”.
She said: “This country bows down to the kingdom and the Queen, someone from another country but they are also responsible for the invasion that occurred in this country, which we are still reeling in.
“Those statistics tell us a story, they paint a very clear picture that the injustices continue against our people, they never ended.”
Ms Thorpe called for a treaty, saying she was “creating a conversation that’s being heard around the world”.
It came after the renegade senator deleted a cartoon she posted showing King Charles being beheaded after it sparked a huge backlash.
The controversial MP said the image was uploaded “without her knowledge” and she has now “deleted it”.
Writing on X on Monday night she said: “Earlier tonight, without my knowledge, one of my staff shared an image to my Instagram stories created by another account.
“I deleted it as soon as I saw. I would not intentionally share anything that could be seen to encourage violence against anyone. That’s not what I’m about.”
The cartoon was first created by Matt Chun, coeditor of the anti-imperialist publication, The Sunday Paper, and was then reposted on Ms Thorpe’s Instagram account.
The post came just hours after Ms Thorpe made global headlines for disrupting a parliamentary reception for King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Canberra.
Senior members of the Liberal party are now considering a censure motion against Ms Thorpe
Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds said she would support a censure motion when Parliament next sits in November.
“Being an elected representative comes with a great responsibility to maintain the dignity and respect of the parliament,” she said.
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: PM SLAMS THORPE
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled her actions “disrespectful” after she ambushed the King and Queen at the parliamentary event with anti-monarchy rant.
“We are honoured to welcome Their Majesties and share the joy of so many Australians in having them here,” Mr Albanese said.
“The actions of the Independent Senator in the Great Hall were disrespectful. This is not the standard of behaviour Australians rightly expect of parliamentarians.”
The senator was seen screaming, “You are not our king, you are not our sovereign” moments after King Charles’ address at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday afternoon.
“Give us our land rights,” she said. “Give us what you stole from us ... our babies, our people, you destroyed our land. It’s not your land, you are not our king.”
King Charles turned to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and talked quietly on the podium of the Great Hall as security moved to prevent Senator Thorpe approaching the monarch.
As security staff escorted Senator Thorpe out, the royal couple prepared to talk to some people at the event.
Moments earlier, Ms Thorpe had turned her back on King Charles during his address at Parliament.
Senator Thorpe’s office issued a statement saying she was following in the footsteps of her uncle, Robbie Thorpe, who has long advocated for a republic through Treaty, and has been pursuing prosecution of the Crown and King Charles III for genocide crimes.
“There’s unfinished business that we need to resolve before this country can become a republic. This must happen through Treaty,” the statement read.
“We can move towards a Treaty Republic now. The two processes are not opposed, they’re complimentary.
“As First Peoples, we never ceded our Sovereignty over this land. The Crown invaded this country, has not sought treaty with First Peoples, and committed a Genocide of our people. King Charles is not the legitimate Sovereign of these lands.
“Any move towards a republic must not continue this injustice.”
Politicians slammed the senator’s antics in the minutes after her stunt.
Parliamentary sources said the best way for the outspoken Senator to be disciplined over her decision to interrupt King Charles’s speech at parliament house with anti-colonial rant was if one of her colleagues moves a motion in the Senate against her or refers her to the Independent Parliamentary Standard Commission.
A fellow Senator would have to move a motion — for example to censure Ms Thorpe — when Parliament returns in November.
Former Tasmania Senator and monarchist Eric Abetz said Ms Thorpe’s conduct was “disgraceful” and “disrespectful”.
“If anyone did that to an individual elder she would rightly have words to say as do I,” he said.
“Very poor form, Senator.”
Mr Abetz said although her behaviour was “bad”, he did not wish to give her the “pleasure” of being “a political martyr” by reporting her behaviour to the standards commission.
“Bad behaviour speaks for itself,” he said.
“In a free society people are free to behave badly as long as it’s not illegal.
“The Senator would love to make herself a martyr on the back of her bad behaviour and I personally would deny her that pleasure.”
United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet demanded Ms Thorpe apologise for harassing the King, who travelled to Australia amid a pause in treatment for an unspecified cancer.
“To show such utter disrespect to King Charles, who has travelled to Australia, despite ongoing cancer treatment, is disgusting,” he said.
“Senator Thorpe has disgraced not only herself and the Australian Parliament, but every Australian man, woman and child.
“Senator Thorpe demanded an apology from King Charles, I’d say it’s King Charles and the Australian people that should be demanding an apology from Senator Thorpe.”
Nationals leader David Littleproud also criticised her.
“Lidia Thorpe’s business model of making a scene to get attention is predictable but it’s sadly now just becoming embarrassing for her,” he said.
Liberal MP Jonno Duniam said Ms Thorpe needed to “reflect” on her own actions and called on her to pay back the cost of her flights to Canberra if she charged them to taxpayers just to cause a scene.
“Lidia Thorpe is supposed to represent all of the people of Victoria, not a small portion of the community,” he said.
“ I don’t give the Greens credit often, and they disagree with the Crown, they don’t agree with the institution of the monarchy but they didn’t charge the taxpayer to come to Canberra and make a scene.
“Whereas Lidia Thorpe did. She stood there, turned her back during the national anthem, shook her head all the way through the speeches and then made a scene which will achieve nothing for anyone.
“Lidia should reflect on her behaviour...she needs to take stock of what she’s doing and ask herself why she’s doing it.”
Earlier in the day, Ms Thorpe led a small group of protesters at the barrier of the memorial and was spotted tussling with the police security over an hour before King Charles and Queen Camilla were expected to arrive.
The fracas kicked off after the officer forced the crowd – seen holding an Aboriginal flag and signs hitting out at the royal couple, into a set area, with another policeman heard shouting “arrest her”, according to The Nightly.
Video of the interaction showed the controversial politician – who is a regular protester, marching away from the female officer in high-vis and removing her red T-shirt.
“Everything that we suffer in this country is because of that colonial invasion,” she said before later rejoining the crowd.
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