Peter Dutton calls for Lidia Thorpe to resign after King Charles outburst

Lidia Thorpe has racked up thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded interstate travel since entering parliament, and Peter Dutton says there is a ‘strong ­argument’ for her to resign after her tirade at King Charles.

Senator Lidia Thorpe stages a protest as Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla attend a parliamentary reception in Canberra on Monday. Picture: Reuters

Lidia Thorpe has racked up thousands of dollars in taxpayer-­funded interstate travel and nabbed a membership to the VIP Qantas Chairman’s Lounge since entering parliament, and Peter Dutton says there is a “strong ­argument” for her to resign after her tirade at King Charles III.

As senators consider options to rebuke Senator Thorpe when parliament returns after her profane protest in front of the King and Queen Camilla, an analysis of the upper house independent’s expenses has revealed she has accumulated at least $1346 across 16 occasions on cancelled Comcars marked in her expenses as “no show”.

Senator Thorpe, who earns an extra $25,702 for chairing a committee on forever chemicals on top of her base salary of $233,660, has tried to defend her shouts of “You are not our king”, “Give us treaty” and “F..k the colony”, declaring she does not “assimilate” to “colonial structures”.

Across eight quarterly expenditure claims from mid-2021 to mid-2024 worth $884,646, the Victorian senator has also billed the taxpayer for travel to Darwin, Alice Springs, Perth and Brisbane and more than a dozen books on Indigenous issues under “office administrative costs”.

Senator Thorpe, who has repeatedly railed against the “colonial state”, has also declared the home she owns in the Melbourne suburb of Preston, which has a median house price of $1.18m and $590,000 for apartments.

The Opposition Leader on Tuesday criticised Senator Thorpe for a “disrespectful” public outburst at a Great Hall reception attended by Anthony Albanese, MPs and dignitaries, branding it a piece of “self-promotion” that was “all about herself”.

“I think there’s a very strong argument for somebody who doesn’t believe in the system but is willing to take a quarter of a million dollars a year from the system, to resign in principle,” Mr Dutton told Seven Network. “If you were really truly about your cause and not just about yourself, I think that’s a decision you would make.”

Though many senators say they believe some action in parliament needed to be taken against Senator Thorpe – such as censure motion when the Senate sits from November 18 – opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham said such a the response would only increase her platform. “One problem (with that) is Lidia Thorpe would probably revel in being censured by the Senate,” he said.

“And so we’ve got to think carefully about how we respond to this in ways that try to prevent such behaviour in the future, but don’t give her the oxygen she so desires for these types of antics.”

Though her conduct falls short of the standard required for referral to the standing committee of privileges and members’ interests because Senator Thorpe had not obstructed the Senate, it is theoretically possible she could be stripped of her role as PFAS committee chair after a Senate vote.

The Australian understands the Coalition would seek bipartisanship before pushing to censure Senator Thorpe, with Labor senators weighing whether it would be worthwhile reigniting tensions stemming from the incident.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the only punishment available to senators was passing a censure motion in the Senate, though the measure was purely “symbolic”.

“It doesn’t carry any real weight, and I think she would probably wear it as a badge of honour,” he told 2GB radio.

Senator Thorpe said her approach “might upset a few people” but she had always “protested and resisted” on Tuesday, adding she was not looking to be re-elected but for “justice for my people”.

“I will be there for another three years, everybody,” she told ABC RN. “So, you know – get used to truth-telling.”

The king received a warmer greeting from Indigenous leaders in Sydney on Tuesday when he visited the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, where he was served kangaroo pies and toured the sports hall.

Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council chair Allan Murray said he had “mixed emotions” about meeting the king. “I think sovereignty is the question … we’ve been here a long time and we’re not seeing that recognition after the failed voice referendum.

“I think we need an explanation and an answer from the king and commonwealth government because of the failed referendum,” he said.