Lidia Thorpe’s relatives among the candidates for Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly Treaty elections

The controversial senator’s mum and cousins are aiming to play a key role in working with the Voice to Parliament — a move that has raised concerns from senior Aboriginal leaders.

Several family members of controversial Senator Lidia Thorpe are gunning to be elected to a powerful representative body tasked with negotiating Victoria’s Treaty arrangements and working with a national Voice to Parliament.

Senator Thorpe’s mother, Marjorie Thorpe, and cousin, Lisa Thorpe, are among the 79 candidates to have put their hand up to run in the Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly upcoming Treaty elections.

Senator Thorpe’s cousins, Alister Thorpe and Alice Pepper, who are both current members of the Assembly, are also hoping to be re-elected.

The representative body is elected by Indigenous people, and is tasked with managing Treaty negotiations with the Victorian government.

Controversial Senator Lidia Thorpe. Picture: Martin Ollman

The Assembly, which is made up of 31 representatives across five regions that cover Victoria, will also play a key role in working with a national Voice to Parliament.

This has led to serious concerns from Aboriginal figures about the potential for influence against the Voice to Parliament given Senator Thorpe’s strong opposition to the referendum.

Senator Thorpe sensationally quit the Greens in February this year because of her objection to the proposed federal advisory body as well as her push to represent a “black sovereign movement”.

Senior Aboriginal leaders, who asked not to be named, said they found the move deeply concerning.

“How can you not support a Voice but try and take over Victoria’s voice,” they told the Herald Sun.

Ms Thorpe quit the Greens because of her objection to the proposed Voice. Picture: Gary Ramage

“She can ride off on the motorbike that she rode in on.”

Marjorie Thorpe, who is running in the south east region, is a committee member of the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust and has previously advocated and worked for the “right of First Peoples and their environment, including significant sites”, according to her candidate profile.

Senator Thorpe’s cousin Lisa said she decided to run to “enhance our Sovereign Nation Voices in this space”.

In her resignation from the Greens earlier this year, Senator Thorpe said: “This country has a strong grassroots black sovereign movement, full of staunch and committed warriors, and I want to represent that movement fully in this Parliament.

Traditional owners will be able to vote in the Treaty elections from May 13 to June 3.

Originally published as Lidia Thorpe’s relatives among the candidates for Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly Treaty elections