Controversial Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe quits party over the Voice stoush

Lidia Thorpe has made the bombshell announcement she’s quitting the Greens over an ongoing stoush about the Voice.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has quit the Greens and will sit on the cross bench and lead “the black sovereignty movement”.

Wearing Sovereignty Never Ceded earrings, she said the move meant she was now able to “speak freely” on the subjects that mattered to her.

The decision follows a split between Senator Thorpe and her colleagues over her reluctance to support the Voice proposal for constitutional recognition.

“This country has a strong grassroots black sovereign movement, full of staunch and committed warriors, and I want to represent that movement fully, and this Parliament,’’ she said.

Senator Lidia Thorpe. Picture: Martin Ollman/Getty Images

“It has become clear to me that I can’t do that from within the Greens. Now, I will be able to speak freely, on all issues, from a sovereign perspective, without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions.”

The fallout has immediate consequences for the Albanese Government because it means that to pass legislation the government now potentially needs the vote of the Greens and two crossbench votes, instead of two.

The fallout has immediate consequences for the Albanese Government. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Currently, the government needs the Greens plus one crossbench vote for example David Pocock but they will now also need another vote, making Tasmanian Independent Jacqui Lambie more important.

The Greens party room recently agreed to allow Senator Thorpe to vote against the Voice proposal while the Greens decide if they will support the referendum.

In terms of parliamentary votes, it means that if Senator Thorpe votes against the government on the legislation the Labor Government needs more crossbench votes to pass laws.

If Senator Thorpe votes with the Greens on legislation it’s no change and if she abstains it’s the status quo of requiring two independents for example David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie.

It also follows Senator Thorpe’s resignation from her Greens leadership role last year after revelations she dated the ex-president of the Rebels bikie gang in Victoria, Dean Martin, while she sat on the joint parliamentary committee that examines bikie gangs.

Ms Thorpe has previously stated that the Australian parliament has no permission to be here and that her role as an Indigenous woman was to “infiltrate” the Senate.

Last year, Victorian Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe described the Parliament as “illegitimate” and declared Australia is a nation “built on a lie”.

Senator Thorpe also made headlines when she was forced to repeat the oath after inserting criticism of the royal family while being sworn in to parliament.

Asked to recite the oath of allegiance, she marched towards the despatch box with her fist in the air in a black power salute and then stated: “I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

“This country was invaded and this country does not have an agreement with its first peoples,’’ she said.

“Now I know that you all think that that’s so long ago and it doesn’t matter.”

Senator Thorpe, a proud DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, said she had no regrets.

“Truth does hurt and I urge all your listeners to look at the true history,’’ she said.

“And look at what terra nullius is because terra nullius is the word they use to invade this country. Which means that this country’s whole foundation is based on a lie. And that’s the truth.”

Speaking on the ABC’s Q&A program last week, Senator Thorpe refused to say whether she will vote ‘Yes’ to constitutional recognition.

She said that only a treaty could address Australia’s dark history with colonisation.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe took part in the Invasion Day rally on January 26 in Melbourne. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“You can’t (just) change the date of dancing on our graves, you’ve got to deal with the impact of colonisation,’’ she said.

“Have a treaty so the day we have a treaty in this country is a day that we should celebrate.

“We have to settle the country first before we go talking about the Republic. So we need a treaty. An advisory body won’t do that.”

She also appeared to suggest that if Australians subsequently voted for a Republic it could wipe out the Voice to Parliament.

“If you go the Republic, then out goes everything that you are voting for this year,’’ she said.

“If you go for a treaty, that lasts – that can last as long as we choose it to last.”

The Greens MP delivered a fiery speech insisting that the Voice proposal on constitutional recognition would deliver more words rather than actions.

“Treaty can bring us Senate seats with real power, not advisory,’’ she said.

“We’re sick of asking the Government, we’re sick of standing like poor people saying, ‘Can you give us some money? Can you help us?’ We’re sick of it.”

“We’ve told the Government that we don’t want to cede sovereignty. We’ve told the Government to implement the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths into custody, the Bringing Them Home report which are 30 and 20-year-old reports, and we see the Closing the Gap Report every year.

“Where are they failing? Incarceration and child stealing.”

“So, unless I see Labor move on those and include sovereignty into the Australian Constitution that we are sovereign, all your legislation, then I’m not saying where I’m going. I want to see action, not words.”

The majority of Greens MPs are expected to endorse the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. However, they will not stand in the way of Senator Lidia Thorpe opposing it.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has attacked Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe’s description of the Queen as a “coloniser”, suggesting if she doesn’t like parliament she should stop taking her $211,250 salary.

“Lidia Thorpe obviously does not take her elected position seriously,” said Ms Hanson.

“She’s filling a position she does not respect, to represent people she obviously despises, in an institution she does not recognise as being legitimate.

“What we saw this morning was a stunning exercise in hypocrisy, made worse by her happily taking $211,000 a year from taxpayers for work she clearly does not intend to do.”

The majority of Greens MPs are expected to endorse the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Speaking to ABC radio in June, she argued the Australian flag represents “dispossession, massacre and genocide” and accused the media of pitting her against Liberal Senator Jacinta Price.

“The colonial project came here and murdered our people. I’m sorry we’re not happy about that,” she said.

“If people are going to get a little bit upset along the way, well that’s just part of the truth telling. The truth hurts.”

In December, Senator Thorpe unreservedly apologised to Liberal Hollie Hughes after she was accused of saying “at least I keep my legs shut” during Senate debate.

Liberal Senator Ben Small told the Senate that Senator Thorpe “just made the most outrageous statement directed at senator Hughes”, something that “ranks at the top” of “disgusting statements made in this chamber”.

Senator Thorpe later told the Senate: “I just want to unreservedly take back the comments that I made earlier when interjecting, and I apologise to that Senator, Senator Hughes, wholeheartedly. That won’t happen again. So I apologise to the Senator and also the Senate.”

Senator Thorpe did not take questions during a brief press conference but hinted at tensions with her former party.

“Now, I will be able to speak freely, on all issues, from a sovereign perspective, without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions,’’ she said.

“Greens MPs, members and supporters, have told me they want to support the Voice.

“This is at odds with the community of activists who are saying treaty before Voice.

“This is the message delivered on the streets on January 26. This was the movement I was raised in, my elders marched for a treaty. This is who I am.”

Senator Thorpe said she was not announcing her final position on the Voice proposal today.

She described Greens Senator Adam Bandt as a strong ally, potentially leaving the door open to returning to the party in the future.

“I will continue to vote with the Greens on climate, but I do not intend to comment further about my time in the Greens,’’ she said.

“My focus now is to grow and amplify the black sovereign movement in this country. Something we have never had since this place was established. There is a black sovereign movement out there that no-one wants to listen to, so I will be their Voice.”

Senator Thorpe said she had spent “my entire life fighting justice, to defend our sovereignty, to save black lives”.

“This is my goal. My strength and convictions come from a lifetime of activism, from my aunt, sisters and from my matriarchs who continue to say to me every day, keep infiltrating, keep your integrity, and keep the fire burning.

“To my mob, I say this, your strength is my strength. Your fight is my fight. Your struggle is my struggle. And I’m ready for what comes next in the fight for a future...where our people are not killed in custody.”

Originally published as Controversial Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe quits party over the Voice stoush