Lidia Thorpe faces Senate censure over antics at King Charles’ speech

Controversial independent senator Lidia Thorpe says the move by the major parties gives her ‘a renewed opportunity’ to call out injustice and call for a Treaty.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe yells at King Charles after his address at Parliament House in October. Picture: Reuters

Controversial independent senator Lidia Thorpe has torn up a censure motion in response to her protest of King Charles III, with Labor and the Coalition coming together to condemn her behaviour and ban her from being part of overseas parliamentary delegations.

Senator Thorpe said the motion was being used to stop her “riling up” Indigenous people of other countries, but declared she would happily repeat her actions at last month’s formal welcome of the King, during which she approached the monarch yelling “not my King” and “coloniser King”.

“I will continue to question the sovereignty of a king from another place,” she said.

“So shame on the king. Shame that he didn’t take the opportunity to apologise and be able to create an opportunity to move on and mature.”

The censure motion stated that the Senate did “not regard it as appropriate for Senator Thorpe to represent the Senate as a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament”.

Senator Thorpe said she expected to be pulled off an upcoming trip to Tuvalu as part of the motion, which effectively excludes her from being considered for such delegations in the future.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe after a censure motion against her in the Senate chamber at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP Image

“I was selected to go to Tuvalu and Fiji for a parliamentary visit, so that might be part of the censure motion, because why would the colony want me mixing up with other Indigenous people around the world and revving them up?” she said.

The Indigenous senator blasted both major parties for moving the motion while she was still en route to Canberra — despite asking Labor minister Don Farrell to delay the vote — and declared she had not been given a chance to be heard.

“I was denied my right to be in that chamber whilst everybody else voted to shut me down, I’m not one to be shut down,” she said.

“This is shutting down a woman, a woman of colour. White supremacy exists in this country.”

Former Greens’ colleague Mehreen Faruqi also accused parliament of being guilty of white supremacy as part of the debate on Monday morning, but was forced to withdraw her comments by the senate president.

Once arriving in parliament, Senator Thorpe entered the chamber to yell, “shame on you all” at the senators while the Senate President called her to order.

Senator Thorpe said she didn’t “give a damn” about the censure motion, declaring she would use it for “kindling” as she ripped up the document in a move that invoked the actions of Maori parliamentarians in New Zealand last week.

She also sported a custom silver necklace that spelt out “not my king”.

The censure motion was passed 46 to 12, with the Greens, David Pocock and Nationals senator Matt Canavan voting against it.

Senator Canavan said he supported the motion but voted against it because Senator Thorpe was not in the chamber and was facing a “kangaroo court”, instigated by Labor.

“That process should be condemned and I hope it is not a precedent that is set in this place that we do not treat our colleagues with respect,” he said.

Labor and the Coalition also voted to censure United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet for posting a range of “racist and homophobic slurs” on X last week.