New senator Lidia Thorpe’s ‘treaty-first’ agenda a risk to Indigenous voice

Lidia Thorpe will bring a ‘treaty first’ agenda that threatens to undermine the Morrison government’s plan for an Indigenous voice.

Incoming senator Lidia Thorpe. Picture: AAP

Lidia Thorpe will become the sixth Indigenous person in the Australian parliament when she is sworn in as a Greens senator on Tuesday, bringing a “treaty first” agenda that threatens to undermine the Morrison government’s plan for an Indigenous voice.

Senator-elect Thorpe’s arrival completes a handover that began three months ago with her pre­selection to replace Richard Di Natale.

She was chosen by Greens party members.

Senator-elect Thorpe will bring to parliament a message stick memorialising 441 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died in custody. “It’s an honour to be the first Aboriginal person elected to the Senate to represent Victoria. And it is an honour to represent all Victor­ians in the fight for a future that cares for community and country,” she said.

“I can’t wait to be sworn in to shake things up. There’s so much that needs to be done. I’ll be fighting for urgent action on the climate crisis, as the health of our community is only as strong as the health of our environment.

“We need economic justice, as the coronavirus has exposed the massive cracks in our system that have allowed young people, women, migrants, the elderly, public housing residents and casualised workers to suffer the most.

“And of course we need to sign a Treaty with First Nations people. Treaty is a chance to create a nat­ional identity that celebrates what unites us, protects the rights of First Nations people, and acknowledges the injustices, both past and present.”

The Greens have previously endorsed the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which sets out a deliberate order for structural reform beginning with an Indigenous voice to parliament enshrined in the Constitution, followed by a treaty then truth-­telling.

Senator-elect Thorpe has been vocal that she believes a treaty should come before a voice, angering Uluru backers who say the order, settled after dialogues with Indigenous people around Australia, is critical to success of the reforms.

Her stance has raised questions about whether, without a treaty first, Greens will support the voice that is being developed under the guidance of Indigenous leaders Marcia Langton and Tom Calma.

Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt is expected to receive a report on a potential model for the voice from professors Langton and Calma within weeks.

Australians, especially but not only Indigenous Australians, will then be consulted.

Senator-elect Thorpe joins two Indigenous Labor MPs in the Senate: Malarndirri McCarthy and Pat Dodson. Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie, of the Jacqui Lambie Network, has told parliament of her Indigenous heritage.

In the lower house, the Indigenous Australians Minister and the opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous affairs are Indigenous.