Coalition explores ‘legal options’ after Lidia Thorpe’s oath admission

The Coalition is investigating whether independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s admission she deliberately misspoke when she swore her allegiance to the monarch could make her ineligible to sit in parliament.

Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe disrupts proceedings as King Charles and Queen Camilla attend a parliamentary reception at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday. Picture: AFP

The Coalition is investigating whether independent Senator Lidia Thorpe’s admission she deliberately misspoke when she swore her allegiance to the monarch could make her ineligible to sit in parliament.

The outspoken Indigenous senator has revealed she deliberately pledged her allegiance to the Queen’s “hairs” rather than her heirs when she was sworn in to parliament, declaring that she would not resign over the deliberately incorrect pronunciation of her affirmation.

Senator Thorpe denied that she had broken her sworn affirmation to be faithful to the monarch when she rushed towards King Charles and Queen Camilla yelling “you are not our king”, “give us treaty” and “f..k the colony” at a formal reception on Monday.

Opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham said Senator Thorpe’s claim raised questions about her eligibility to sit in parliament, and the Coalition was considering “legal opinions” on the implications of her admission.

“This is a deeply serious claim to be making that does bring her eligibility to participate in the proceedings of the Senate into question,” he said.

“Section 42 of the Constitution requires that a senator make and subscribe the oath or affirmation before taking the senator’s seat in the Senate.

“A senator must therefore be sworn in before sitting in the Senate or participating in its proceedings.”

Senators have been weighing the appropriate action to take against Senator Thorpe after her foul-mouthed protest, such as a censure motion, though few other options are available to MPs to address the unique circumstance.

Opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senator Birmingham said being a member of parliament was a “privilege” and swearing an allegiance was a requirement under the Constitution.

“Taking the oath or affirmation is one of the few requirements placed upon a senator other than their election,” he said.

“The Coalition will explore options and consider legal opinions as to the implications of Senator Thorpe’s admission.”

Senator Thorpe, who left the Greens party to campaign against an Indigenous voice to parliament, dismissed suggestions the deliberate misspeaking could have implications for her standing as a senator.

“I swore allegiance to the Queen’s hairs,” she told the ABC.

“If you listen close enough, it wasn’t her heirs, it was her hairs that I was giving my allegiance to and now that they’re no longer here, I don’t know where that stands.

“I’m not giving up my job, I’m not resigning.

“I’m not an expert on the colonial laws, the only experience I’ve had with colonial laws is the violence of them.”

Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey said it was unlikely Senator Thorpe would be found to be ineligible to sit in parliament because she would also have signed a written affirmation swearing her allegiance to the Queen.

“If she had not made a valid affirmation it would be a matter for the house, and the presiding officer could make the decision on if she has not fulfilled section 42 of the Constitution,” Professor Twomey said.

“In this case, because she had signed the correct wording she is unlikely to take that view.”

Professor Twomey said she was not aware of an incident where an MP had been unable to sit in parliament due to an issue with their oath, though in the UK Irish republican Sinn Fein MPs had refused to swear an oath to the monarch and were unable to take their seats.

When she was sworn in to the Senate after her re-election in 2022, Senator Thorpe was pulled up and asked to repeat her affirmation correctly after she swore her “faithful” and “true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.