Australian senate censures Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles
“You are not our king. You are not sovereign,” Lidia Thorpe yelled at King Charles
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Australian senators have voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month.
The censure of independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues’ disapproval of her conduct during the first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years.
The motion was carried 46 votes to 12.
Government leader in the Senate Penny Wong said Thorpe’s outburst sought to “incite outrage and grievance.”
“This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia,” Wong told the Senate.
Thorpe launched an expletive-laden rant at Charles following his speech during his visit to Canberra and Sydney.
“You are not our king. You are not sovereign,” Thorpe yelled at Charles as she was led by security guards from the reception.
“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” she added.
Following her censure, Thorpe said she would repeat her rant if Charles returned.
“If the colonizing king were to come to my country again, our country, then I’ll do it again,” Thorpe told reporters.
“And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonization in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands; First Peoples are the real sovereigns. You don’t have some random king rock up and say he’s sovereign,” she added.
Sen. Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the minor Greens party, opposed the censure motion.
“The bubble of white privilege that encapsulates this parliament is a systemic issue,” Faruqi said. “That’s why we are here today, debating a Black senator being censured for telling the truth of the British crown’s genocide on First Nations people and telling it the way she wants to."
The vote took place before Thorpe arrived on a flight from Melbourne. Thorpe said she had wanted to be in Parliament for the vote but government senators refused to wait.