Opponent questions whether Lidia Thorpe broke her oath to the Crown

An opponent has raised questions about whether Lidia Thorpe has broken her oath to serve the Crown after her verbal spray at King Charles III.

Lidia Thorpe can’t be disqualified from the Senate for “being rude to the King”, a constitutional expert says.

During a formal reception for King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the Great Hall of Parliament House on Monday, the Indigenous independent senator marched forward and started shouting at the royals.

“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,” she yelled before security took her away.

On Wednesday, Nationals leader in the Senate, Bridget McKenzie, questioned if the stunt breached the oath all MPs make to the Crown.

Senator Lidia Thorpe sparked headlines this week after her bold stunt. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Senator Thorpe, I think, is the only parliamentarian that I’ve ever known to disavow their oath of allegiance to our sovereign and their heirs and successors according to law,” Senator McKenzie said on ABC radio.

“So what she did on Monday essentially breached that.”

Senator McKenzie compared Senator 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,” Senator 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.”

But constitutional law experts told NewsWire the prospect of any repercussions for breaking the oath would be an issue as a parliamentary oath and an oath in court are different.

Parliament has the power to censure an MP, but not throw them out.

“Senator McKenzie seems almost to be suggesting that it is wrong for a parliamentarian to advocate for a republic, to argue for getting rid of the monarchy – which is something many people on her side of politics have done,” Monash University constitutional law professor Luke Beck said.

“Senator McKenzie is wrong that protest ‘weakens our system’.”

He said the Constitution included an implied freedom of political communication, which protects protest activity.

“Engaging in protest activity is not a ground of disqualification. Advocating for a republic is not a ground of disqualification,” he said.

“Being rude to the king is not a ground of disqualification. Engaging in rowdy politics is not a ground of disqualification.

“Did Thorpe’s protest get people talking about the issues she cares about or did it just get everyone talking about her rather than the issues?”

Bridget McKenzie has questioned whether Lidia Thorpe broke her oath to the crown. Picture: NewsWire / Richard Gosling

On ABC radio on Tuesday, Ms Thorpe said she yelled at King Charles III for her grandmother, her community and a treaty.

Questioned about the fact she took an oath to the crown when she became a Senator, Ms Thorps said “I don’t assimilate to the colonial structures”.

“I had to do that (swear an oath) to fulfil my duties. And I can guarantee you I did that under duress and we should not be kneeling to the coloniser.”

Lidia Thorpe’s outburst at King Charles III garnered global headlines. Picture: NewsWire / POOL / Lukas Coch

“My people died fighting for this country and they are the resistance fighters of our people.”

“I will be there for another three years. So get used to truth-telling.”

The Senator said she had written to the King multiple times without response.

“My approach may upset a few people, but how else do you get your message across when we’re continually shut down as blak women.”

When the independent Senator was sworn in – as a Greens MP – she walked to the centre of the chamber to recite the oath with her fist in the air.

She called the Queen a coloniser. Other MPs did not like that and Senator Thorpe then repeated the oath as it’s written, all the while keeping her fist raised.

NIMBYs

The Nationals senate leader has branded the Teal MPs as the “biggest NIMBYs in town”.

Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie made the catchy cry on radio on Wednesday morning,but one target of the jab hit back saying “We need more houses and less politics and name calling”.

Ms McKenzie said “I don’t see any greater political move from the Teals than saying, look, can someone else help us solve the housing crisis? Can someone else, can we do that down the road in those peri-urban suburbs out in western Melbourne and western Sydney? Please don’t bring down the cost of my home or those people that vote for me”.

Even though Ms McKenzie is attacking the Teal MPs’ opposition to apartment blocks in expensive inner-city suburbs, the shadow infrastructure spokeswoman went on to say “most affordable houses that we can build are actually detached housing in those outer suburbs”.

This week the Victorian government announced plans to high-rise apartments in 50 Melbourne areas, close to existing public transport routes as a jolt to the stark lack of affordable houses connected to Melbourne.

With barely an hour’s notice about 100 angry residents turned up at the Premier’s press conference in seaside Brighton on Sunday, one of the areas included in the high-rise scheme.

“I want my children to own their home and that home needs a garden. This is not the answer to the housing crisis,” one resident told media. Brighton has a median house price of $3.25m and $1.28m for units.

Zoe Daniel criticised the high-rise scheme as lacking community consultation. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Monique Ryan says infrastructure is lacking to build in inn suburbs. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The electorate of Teal MP Zoe Daniel covers the leafy suburb; “We need our communities to be part of the solution to this problem, not living in fear of it,” Ms Daniel said on Tuesday.

“The way not to do it is by ­simply announcing a scheme for large, high-density builds without consulting affected communities on how you plan to ensure that there will be the schools, roads, medical care and other resources required to service a growing community,” she said.

Teal MP Monique Ryan’s seat of Kooyong is tipped for nine of the initial 25 development zones. Dr Ryan said infrastructure, particularly the completed removal of level crossings, did not actually make suburbs in her seat ripe for big new apartment blocks.

Those comments sparked Ms McKenzie to get on the offensive and label the Teal MPs the “biggest NIMBYs in town” on Wednesday.

Dr Ryan said the attack was petty politicking.

“We are in a housing crisis. We need more houses and less politics and name calling,” Dr Ryan told NewsWire.

Federal Labor and Opposition MPs are out in force at development sites this week, as the election will be held in the next six or seven months.

On Wednesday Ms McKenzie contended the Opposition plan to build more houses would be more effective by encouraging the private sector more so than Labor, despite the Opposition’s housing plan having a lower sticker value.

Ms Daniel’s office has been approached for comment.

Originally published as Opponent questions whether Lidia Thorpe broke her oath to the Crown