Independent Senator to pursue human rights action against Greens

Senator Lidia Thorpe claims to have experienced racism during her time in the Greens.

Senator Lidia Thorpe says she had “experienced racism all my life in every ­workplace, and the Greens were no different”. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has revealed she will lodge a claim in the Australian Human Rights Commission against the Greens over allegations she was subjected to racism as a member of the party.

Senator Thorpe on Sunday claimed to have experienced ­racism during her time with the ­party and had been informed by her lawyers that she had enough grounds to launch a case.

It comes after Senator Thorpe accused Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young of racism during a fiery exchange in the upper house while the ABC’s managing director David Anderson and ABC news director Justin Stevens were being questioned about the ­national broadcaster’s handling of Stan Grant’s exit from Q+A following allegations of racism.

Senator Thorpe was elected as a Greens Senator last year but sensationally quit the party to become an independent in February over its decision to back an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Senator Lidia Thorpe speaking on ABC's Insiders on Sunday. Source: ABC

A spokeswoman for the Greens said the party was not aware of any legal proceedings against any of its MPs or the party, and that it was “committed to stamping out racism wherever it occurs”.

Senator Thorpe on Sunday suggested national bodies like the ABC were founded on institutional racism and that the ­nation needed to work harder to ensure it was stamped out in all workplaces.

“I’ll leave that up to my lawyers and the Human Rights Commission to ... that’s a conversation I need to have with them,” Senator Thorpe told the ABC.

“I don’t want to say anything further. But, yes, I’ve experienced racism all my life in every ­workplace, and the Greens were no different.

“I just want racism stamped out. We see, you know, the ABC – it’s called institutional racism.

“It’s the foundation of these ­institutions that are racist, that allow racism to occur.”

Senator Thorpe last week asked Senator Sarah Hanson-Young why she had not stood up “for racism in the party, against me?” during a tense exchange in the upper house but Senator Hanson-Young rejected the ­allegations.

Senator Thorpe also revealed she may abstain from voting on the government’s proposed referendum machinery bill in the upper house next month but ­clarified she was not part of the No campaign.

Speaking to the ABC, Senator Thorpe criticised the government’s consultation process to formulate the final wording for a proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament, arguing that the members of its referendum working group were “hand-picked” by Labor.

She said the referendum body had excluded “grassroots, sovereign blackfellas around the country” and that Labor had ignored the concerns of Indigenous ­Australians about the cessation of sovereignty.

Senator Thorpe is pushing for a treaty with First Nations people to be prioritised ahead of a referendum on the Voice, and will seek to amend the bill when it comes to the upper house next month to acknowledge the sovereign status of First Nations people in Australia.

“The Yes vote is to allow for a powerless Voice to go into the Constitution,” Senator Thorpe told the ABC.

“Yes, we don’t know what this looks like. It could be one person. It’s up to the parliament to decide what the voice looks like.

“So I can’t support something that gives us no power. And, I certainly cannot support a No campaign that is looking more like a white-supremacy campaign that is causing a lot of harm.”