Charisa Bossinakis
Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has slammed Queen Elizabeth II as a ‘coloniser’ while reciting the oath of allegiance in federal parliament.
While being sworn into parliament, Thorpe raised her fist and said: “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.”
Thorpe’s statements were met with heckles and boos from the rest of the chamber, according to The Guardian.
Senate President Sue Lines also requested that the Greens member redo her oath and read it ‘as printed on the card’.
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After her oath, Thorpe took to Twitter and wrote: “Sovereignty never ceded.”
However, this is not the first time the member of parliament has referred to the Queen as a ‘coloniser’.
Last month, the politician tweeted that it’s time for Australia to become a republic and that we no longer need to be ruled under the Queen’s sovereignty.
She tweeted: “Do we really need the colonisers dictating how we should run our country, when colonisation itself is dying? What happened to ;we are one and free'? It’s time to break the chains and become our own nation.”
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Mirage News also reports that after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Garma Festival over the weekend, Thorpe said she wanted to meet with him to push for a voice to parliament and other critical indigenous issues.
The Greens Senator said she wanted to see all of the recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the 1997 Bringing them Home Report implemented by the Labor government.
The Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman said: “I’ll be seeking discussions with the Albanese Government about their proposal for a Voice to Parliament and putting urgent, critical matters for First Nations people on the table.
"These are things that will save people’s lives, before any referendum.
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“I want the government to support our Bill to back the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, implement the remaining recommendations from the Stolen Generations and Deaths in Custody Royal Commissions, and back the Greens’ plans for concrete steps towards a Treaty.”
She added: “The Greens will be bringing these critical reforms to the table in discussions with Labor about justice for First Nations people.
“First Nations sovereignty has never been ceded. The Greens will always honour that.”