Victorian Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe accuses royals of ‘genocide’

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has accused the British royal family of being responsible for “genocide” in a Facebook spray.

Greens senator Lidia Thorpe – who was forced to retake her oath of allegiance after calling the Queen a coloniser – has accused the British royal family of being responsible for “genocide.”

The Victorian MP, who said Australians expected her to “come out ranting and raving to confirm their views of me as a crazy Blak woman” – said she had instead taken her time before responding to the Queen’s death.

“They buried our kids in the sand and kicked off their heads, and you want me to pay my respects?,’’ she wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

“This isn’t about an individual, it’s about the institution she represents and the genocide that they’re responsible for.”

The Djab Wurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara senator said Australia didn’t need a “new king” it needed an Australian head of state.

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Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has accused the British royal family of being responsible for “genocide.” Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“The Queen is dead. I’ve had some days to reflect, and know that people wanted me to come out ranting and raving to confirm their views of me as a crazy Blak woman. In the days since, I’ve seen anger and disbelief from First Nations people at the glorification of our oppressor,’’ she said on Monday night.

“This Country has a new King. The parliament and the Prime Minister are subjugated to someone we didn’t elect. We don’t need a new King, we need a head of state chosen by the people.

“The process towards being able to pick our own head of state would bring us all together – it would force us to tell the truth about our history and move us towards real action to right the wrongs that started with colonisation.

“We could use this moment and momentum to empower people to democratically elect our own leader. Someone who represents all of us, uniting a country that has owned up to its past and chosen its own future. That unity would be more powerful than any King.”

In an opinion piece in The Guardian Online this week, she revealed that the Queen’s death broke on the same day as her cousin’s funeral.

“My cousin, like more than 500 First Nations people in the last 30 years alone, died in custody. I was notified on Monday of another death in custody,’’ she said.

“The institutions that British colonisation brought here, from the education that erases us to the prisons that kill us, are designed to destroy the oldest living culture in the world. That’s the legacy of the crown in this country.

“The “British empire” declared a war on these shores, against this country’s First Nations peoples. This led to massacres. And you want a minute’s silence from me?

The Djab Wurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara senator said Australia didn’t need a “new king” it needed an Australian head of state. Picture: Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images

In an opinion piece in The Guardian Online, Ms Thorpe revealed that the Queen’s death broke on the same day as her cousin’s funeral. Picture: Eddie Mulholland / AFP

Senator Thorpe said she was writing in “solidarity with First Nations people who are triggered by the glorification of our oppressor.”

“To the mothers who will have to listen to people grieving the Queen while living in fear of their babies being stolen and our kids who will have to pay their respects at school despite the British empire’s attempts to wipe us out,’’ she wrote.

“Colonial governments are complicit in continuing the crimes against First Nations people because that is the agenda of the coloniser against First Nations people around the world. To think that people can stand and celebrate that is ignorant and painful.

“First Nations people are proud, sovereign people. The British empire tried to wipe us out, but they failed.”

Senator Thorpe has also offered her support ro Indigenous NRLW star Caitlin Moran and slammed the NRL after it suspended her for calling Queen Elizabeth a ‘dumb dog’ on the day of her death.

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Moran wrote: ‘Todays a good f***ing day, uncle Luke (country singer Luke Coombs) announces his tour, and this dumb dog (Queen Elizabeth) dies. Happy f***ing Friday’.

“I’m calling on the NRL to do their own racism awareness training. If anyone needs to be educated, it’s you,’’ Senator Thorpe said.

“You’re responsible for creating a safe workplace for First Nations players. Solidarity with Cailtin Moran. Stand strong sister. #RacismStopsWithMe.”