‘We want better’: Senator Lidia Thorpe’s demand on the Voice to Parliament

Senator Lidia Thorpe tells Q&A the Voice to Parliament would “destroy” Indigenous sovereignty while outlining why she is voting no.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has slammed the proposed Voice to Parliament as something that could affect the “sovereign status” of Indigenous Australians.

The Victorian Senator has been outspoken about the Voice to Parliament in recent weeks and indicated she will vote no if the Albanese government cannot assure her that Indigenous sovereignty will be guaranteed.

Senator Thorpe outlined her “issues” with the Voice while speaking on ABC TV’s Q&A, arguing that many Indigenous Australians want to have a treaty first.

"We want better!" Senator Thorpe demanded on QandA. Picture: ABC

Senator Thorpe recently spoke at an Invasion Day rally. Picture : NCA NewsWire / Valeriu Campan

She said the Australian Constitution was only a couple of years old, but “wanted to override the oldest constitution on the planet, which is ours, so to conform to the laws of the colonial power is destroying our country ” she said.

“What grassroots blackfulla want to see ... their concern is sovereignty as First Nations people, and we want to go down a treaty path.

“We are sig of tinkering around the edges, we have been advisers for too long. We want better!”

The Senator decried the Voice as a body with “no power”

Senator Thorpe has kept the door open to voting no to the Voice to Parliament. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senator Thorpe spoke at an Invasion Day rally in Melbourne, saying Indigenous Australians “deserve” more than an advisory body, a line repeated on Monday night.

“[The Voice] is an advisory body that will advise the parliament on things that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but we have to remember it is an advisory body. It has no power,” Senator Thorpe said.

“It has parliament supremacy over it‘ll all times.”

More to come.