Lidia Thorpe cries foul over police clash

Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe has clashed with police after attempting to disrupt an anti-trans rally held by British activist Kellie-Jay Keen outside Parliament House in Canberra | WATCH

Lidia Thorpe is manhandled during a Canberra rally held by British anti-trans rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen, right. Picture: AAP

Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe has clashed with police after attempting to disrupt an anti-trans rally held by British activist Kellie-Jay Keen outside Parliament House in Canberra.

Senator Thorpe on Thursday stormed into a small crowd of transgender rights critics screaming “you are not welcome” until she was pulled to the ground and could be seen lying down draped in an Aboriginal flag.

The scuffle broke out at an anti-trans protest held by Ms Keen – also known as Posey Parker – who runs Let Women Speak which advocates for excluding trans women from female-only spaces and services, as part of a number of demonstrations around the world.

The movement has sparked national debate after similar protests in Melbourne were ambushed by neo-Nazis, triggering calls for state governments to ban the Nazi salute and tumult in the Victorian Liberal Party.

The anti-trans group in Canberra was significantly outnumbered by pro-trans activists who banded together about 50m away chanting “Posie Parker, you can’t hide, you’ve got Nazis on your side”.

Senator Thorpe claimed she had been “assaulted” and “pulverised” by the police after “simply telling that person that they are not allowed to be here”.

The accusations come after the Victorian senator attempted to block the Sydney Mardi Gras parade to protest Indigenous deaths in custody

“We do not tolerate this kind of filth being on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, let alone the Nazi support that these people have – they are racist, they are ­homophobic, they are destroying peoples’ lives and this country should be ashamed that they even let people into this country,” Senator Thorpe said.

“I went to tell her that they are not welcome here and I got pulverised by the police by simply telling that person that they are not allowed to be here. The police need to answer for the assault but also this government needs to ­answer why these people are ­allowed into this country.”

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus labelled the footage “concerning” and said he had sought urgent advice from the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, while the AFP said the interactions between its members and protesters had been referred to its Professional Standards Command for investigation.

No Coalition MPs attended the protest after Liberal Tasmanian senator Claire Chandler and former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves withdrew their participation citing fears for their safety.

Their withdrawal came after Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming faced calls for her to be expelled from the partyroom after she attended the anti-trans rally alongside Ms Keen in Melbourne last weekend.

Greens senator Janet Rice attended the counter-­protest, telling The Australian she went to “speak up” for trans and gender diverse people who “deserve to be celebrated and not vilified”.

Speaking to the pro-trans crowd, Senator Rice said: “Transgender diverse people rock across all cultures and across all times.

“While they’re preaching hate, we are preaching love.”

One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts ­attended in support of Ms Keen, alongside the United Australia Party’s Ralph Babet.