Greens Senator calls Queen a ‘coloniser’, raises black power salute in swearing in ceremony

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has disrupted her swearing-in ceremony, calling Queen Elizabeth II a “coloniser” as debate heats up over the Indigenous voice to parliament.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe called Queen Elizabeth II a “coloniser” during a swearing in ceremony at parliament Monday, raising her fist in a “black power salute” and swearing to “be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

Ms Thorpe then repeated the oath a second time, correctly, while mispronouncing the word “heirs” as “hair.”

While widely rebuked for her conduct, Ms Thorpe received the support of Greens leader Adam Bandt, who tweeted, “Always was. Always will be” in response to her actions.

Ms Thorpe’s outburst came as the issue of an Indigenous voice to parliament dominated Question Time, with the government using its friendly “Dorothy Dixer” questions to prompt speeches supporting the proposal.

However Coalition MPs remain divided on the topic.

Australia Greens Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe raises her arm in a ‘black power salute’ during her swearing-in ceremony in the Senate chamber. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

South Australian Senator Alex Antic said that the voice was “entirely divisive and I remain baffled by any suggestion that such a drift to identity politics could offer any real world solutions for Aboriginal people in this country.”

“I don’t support the concept and I can’t see how anyone could be expected to support it without any detail attached,” he said.

Indigenous leader and Director of the Indigenous Forum at the Centre for Independent Studies, Warren Mundine, criticised the proposal as it stands, saying that it has become a project of the “elite”.

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine believes the Voice to parliament has become an elitist project. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Mundine said, “The campaign is championed by Australia’s elites, including corporate Australia, media figures and Aboriginal academics. When I speak to Aboriginal people day to day I don’t find support, but rather indifference, confusion as to what it’s about or outright opposition.

“I know why. The Voice, like the representative bodies before it, is not built around Aboriginal cultures and how we look at ourselves.”

“I predict the Voice will be just another bureaucratic structure that further entrenches government in Aboriginal lives.

“Despite the missions and reserves being disbanded since the late 1960s, Aboriginal people are the most over-governed people in Australia. We need less government not more,” he said.