Rogue senator Lidia Thorpe makes threat to ‘burn down parliament’
Amid nationwide Palestine protests, the rogue senator’s shocking Parliament House threat has sparked outrage.
Labor MPs have joined the chorus of condemnation of rogue senator Lidia Thorpe’s incendiary claim that she would “burn down Parliament House” to win justice for Palestine, as anti-Israel activists toughen their rhetoric and pledge to keep marching even in the wake of a Gaza peace deal.
Senator Thorpe’s extraordinary threat came as thousands of pro-Palestine protesters defied Anthony Albanese’s plea to “turn down the heat” and marched across the nation on Sunday, despite the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza, and the imminent release of hostages.
Activists threatened to “take” Brisbane’s Story Bridge next month despite being blocked from marching across it in August to protest the war in Gaza, as a former Greens candidate on Sunday told a Melbourne rally that the Prime Minister was a “treacherous snake” and his senior frontbenchers “butchers”.
In a speech immediately condemned by the federal opposition and Jewish leaders, Senator Thorpe likened the Palestinian struggle to the fight for Indigenous rights in Australia, saying the two causes were bound by history of resistance. “So we stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point … I am not there to make friends,” she told the crowd.
But almost 24 hours later, the independent Senator said her comment that she’d burn down Parliament for Palestine was a “metaphor” and “clearly a figure of speech” and not a “literal threat”.
“This mock outrage is ridiculous,” she said in a statement on Monday. “My rally remarks were clearly a figure of speech – a metaphor for the pain in our communities and the urgent need to end genocide in Palestine and everywhere. They were obviously not a literal threat.
“While people are dying and starving in Gaza, politicians and media are once again clutching their pearls and chasing a scandal instead of focusing on what really matters. This is just another political game designed to distract from the real issues.
“I have always rejected violence. Any suggestion otherwise misrepresents my long‑standing commitment to pursuing justice and self-determination for First Peoples and all oppressed peoples through peaceful, democratic means.”
The opposition said it would “consider options” to hold Senator Thorpe to account.
“Lidia Thorpe’s comments are disgraceful and shocking, but unfortunately unsurprising,” Senate opposition leader Michaelia Cash said.
“Australians deserve much better from their elected representatives, but she has a long history of appalling conduct. The opposition will consider options available within the Senate to hold Senator Thorpe accountable and ensure the safety of all those who work in our parliament.”
The Australian sought comment on Sunday from Mr Albanese and Penny Wong, as leader of the government in the Senate, including whether there would be any move to censure Senator Thorpe or refer the remarks to the Australian Federal Police, but was told there would be no further comment.
Instead, a government spokeswoman said that “protest is an important part of our democracy, but it also must be respectful of others”. “There is no place for violence, hatred or abuse. After more than two years of conflict, hostages held and a devastating loss of civilian life, the Australian government welcomes the first phase of the plan to bring peace to Gaza,” she said.
Burke, Plibersek, Rishworth speak out
On Monday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Senator Thorpe’s comment was “of course” not acceptable, and that if the temperature could be lowered in Gaza, “it should be able to be lowered in Canberra’’.
“The concept of wanting to inflame, push the temperature up, is not what anyone should be doing, least of all a member of parliament,” Mr Burke told ABC RN.
“I’m not going to respond to that by increasing the heat in the opposite direction. I really think it’s a time for just turning the temperature down because there are two things, and we’ve got a chance of getting both, there are two things that Australians have been wanting.
“They’ve been wanting the killing to end, and they’ve been wanting to make sure that the conflict’s not brought here. We might be looking right now at the chance for the killing to end, so let’s also try to calm things down here.”
Mr Burke was asked whether he thought the comments were “acceptable” coming from a senator. “Of course they’re not, they speak for themselves,” he said. “I just don’t think there’s any benefit, and certainly not benefit to social cohesion, in me responding by getting angrier and ramping it up.”
Mr Burke – the manager of business in the House of Representatives – said there were separate processes in the Senate and did not say whether the government would take any action against Senator Thorpe.
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek called Senator Thorpe’s words “absolutely irresponsible”.
“We just don’t want give it extra air,” Ms Plibersek told Seven’s Sunrise.
“We’re holding our breaths. We want to see the hostages are returned tonight as they’re supposed to be. We want to see aid back into Gaza and the rebuilding of Gaza. We want to see peace in the Middle East. We don’t want conflict brought here to Australia We don’t want to give Thorpe any airtime at all.”
Fellow Labor minister Amanda Rishworth also criticised the comments, saying they were “clearly inappropriate”.
“People have the right to protest, but it must be done in a respectful way and of course, any comments that inflame violence and hatred are inappropriate,” Ms Rishworth told Nine’s Today.
“I think if fighting can stop in the Middle East, we need to make sure that we are turning the temperature down here at home. And of course, people want to see the end of the violence and they don’t want to see tensions brought here into Australia.”
The divisions caused by the Israel-Hamas war and the Australian anti-Semitism crisis were on display at a commemoration of the October 7 massacres in Sydney’s Dover Heights on Sunday night. When Israeli ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon mentioned Mr Albanese and Senator Wong, the crowd booed loudly.
The event was attend by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. There was no representative from federal Labor at the memorial, although Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles gave a video address.
Senator Thorpe’s “belligerent” speech was criticised by Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin who said Senator Thorpe had “no connection to the land, its history or its conflict”.
“To speak of burning parliament is disgusting and dangerous. To speak of doing it for Palestine is tragically on brand,” he said. “Palestinian terrorists not only burned people on October 7, they burned what little hope remained of a two-state solution.”
Senator Thorpe in 2021 drew controversy when she said the Old Parliament House’s doors being set on fire seemed like the “colonial system burning”. The Melbourne rally formed part of a series of co-ordinated demonstrations across the nation on Sunday. Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists marched in the CBD yelling “intifada” and “Israel is a terrorist state” to mark 105 weeks since the start of the war.
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas called Mr Albanese a “treacherous snake” and labelled the government “imperial bootlickers” at the rally, urging protesters to draw inspiration from the “mighty resistance of Gaza”. Also naming Senator Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles in her denunciation, Ms Thomas said: “History will call your name among the butchers you are.
“None of you deserve to be spared, and none of you will be, because Palestine will outlive you, and every empire that ever tried to erase it.” Thousands of protesters marched in Sydney chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong told the rally they were seeing “the failure of the Labor Prime Minister who once upon a time stood at rallies like this talking in support of Palestine when it was convenient for his political career, who refuses now to face the genocidal regime”.
“And we have a state Premier who uses the NSW Police as a protection racket for him and his Labor cronies who want to back the Zionists in this country.”
The crowd marched from Hyde Park to Belmore Park, after being denied permission to rally outside the Opera House.
That plan was quashed by the NSW Court of Appeal on Thursday, which ruled that the estimated crowd of 40,000 would pose a risk to public safety, with fears of a catastrophic crowd crush. Police estimated about 8000 people took part in the protest on Sunday.
One child in the Sydney march held a sign reading “DD TT IDF”, an abbreviation for Death, death to the IDF – the Israeli Defence Forces. Other protesters held signs comparing Israel’s actions in Gaza with the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Palestine Action Group leader Josh Lees told the crowd Israel could not be trusted to stick to the ceasefire, saying it had always broken its agreements with Palestinians.
Other speakers included members of the Sumud Flotilla intercepted by the Israeli military off Gaza and later deported, among them Juliet Lamont, AbuBakir Rafiq and Surya McEwan. Mr Rafiq told the crowd he and others from the flotilla had been tortured while in an Israeli prison.
NSW Police and Jewish leaders had been concerned “extreme elements” could flout the law and march on the Opera House regardless, but that did not eventuate.
A large contingent of police and private security was stationed at the Opera House to prevent any breakaway attempt to enter the forecourt. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna had earlier warned that anyone “silly enough to do so” would be committing an offence. NSW Premier Chris Minns warned that anyone who breached the court’s decision could expect to face “the full force of the law”.
In Victoria, the Allan government declined to call on pro-Palestine protesters to cease their rallies choking Melbourne’s CBD each Sunday.
“Victoria celebrates the possibility of peace in the Middle East,” a government spokesperson said. “People have a right to protest, but no one has a right to divide, and no one has a right to violence.”
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