Lidia Thorpe says her ‘message is being lost’ amid royal protest backlash

Lidia Thorpe says she only gets attention “when I play up”, as she weathers backlash for her royal protest.

Lidia Thorpe says her “message is being lost” and that she only makes the headlines “when I play up” amid backlash over her royal protest.

The Greens-turned-independent senator has been facing calls for a censure and suspension since she yelled “you are not our king”, “give us treaty” and “f**k the colony” at King Charles on Monday after he delivered an address at Parliament House praising Australia.

Senator Thorpe also sparked questions around her legitimacy after she said she pledged allegiance to Queen Elizabeth’s “hairs” and not the late monarch’s “heirs” during her swearing in in 2022.

But Senator Thorpe said on Thursday it was “an insult” to question her legitimacy, saying her critics “can’t get rid of me”.

“So we’ve got another three and a half years,” she told Sky News.

“I’m sorry for those that don’t like me, but I am here to do a job, and that is to get justice for my people, but also to bring this nation together.”

Lidia Thorpe disrupted a reception at Parliament House for King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Picture: NewsWire / POOL / Lukas Coch

Senator Thorpe said people were paying too much attention to the theatrics of the demonstration and missing her point.

“This is not about every non Aboriginal person in this country going around saying ‘sorry’,” she said.

“This is about every non-Aboriginal person in this country being part of the solution and coming together for a peace making treaty.

“You know, we’re the only Commonwealth country in the world that doesn’t have a treaty with its first people.

“So that’s what I’m asking for here, and that message is being lost.”

The Indigenous senator said she was “demonised” while her no one talked about her contributions to the country, pointing to her work on so-called forever chemicals.

In August, she appointed chair of a probe into the harmful health effects of forever chemicals, which have been found in major drinking water reservoirs in Australia.

But asked if it was not her intention to cause a stir, Senator Thorpe said it was “exactly what I wanted”.

“I wanted to bring international coverage to what is going on with first peoples in this land,” she said.

“I wanted to sit down with the king and have a cup of tea and have a have cake with him.

“I sent him numerous letters. Even before he announced coming here, I was sending him letters saying ‘can we meet?’”

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Katy Gallagher said on Thursday senators would discuss a response to Senator Thorpe’s protest next week.

The federal minister did not speculate what disciplinary action may look like, but said she would “work with people across the chamber about what the appropriate response is.”

Federal minister Katy Gallagher says the senate will discuss a response to Senator Lidia Thorpe’s royal protest next week. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“We need to work out a way to ensure that the institution of the senate, and the important role it plays in democracy, is upheld and respected,” Senator Gallagher told the ABC.

“And I think that’s at times challenged with some behaviour, in particular from Senator Thorpe, but she also does like attention that comes from these public displays.”

Senator Gallagher said that “many in the chamber” understood what the Senator Thorpe was trying to say, but disagreed with how she went about it.

“It’s a really matter for her now as well to reflect on her role as a senator, and how she wishes to play that role in what’s an important institution, including for the causes that she seeks to represent,” she said.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s leader in the senate, Simon Birmingham, said on Wednesday the Coalition would “consider legal opinions” after Senator Thorpe’s claim she did say her oath properly.

Senior opposition senator Simon Birmingham says the Coalition is looking at ‘legal’ options. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“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.”

Senator Birmingham said it was a “privilege” to serve in the Senate and that swearing an allegiance was a constitutional requirement.

“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.”

Among the options being floated by senators are a censure and even a suspension.

Neither the King nor Queen Camilla appeared distressed by the incident and continued on with their planned engagements. Picture: NewsWire

During an interview with ABC earlier on Wednesday, Senator Thorpe said she did not know where her pledge stood.

“I swore allegiance to the Queen’s hairs,” Senator Thorpe said.

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

Senator Thorpe also signed a written oath before witnesses when she was sworn in, which would have spelled the word “heirs” correctly, according to constitutional law expert Anne Twomey.

Originally published as Lidia Thorpe says her ‘message is being lost’ amid royal protest backlash