Australian Senate Censures Lidia Thorpe Over King Charles Protest

The Australian Senate has censured Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe for disrupting King Charles' speech last month, accusing the British monarch of genocide. Thorpe, who rejected the King’s sovereignty over Australia, called the motion a distraction from real issues affecting Indigenous people.

The Australian Senate has censured Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe over her protest against King Charles during his visit to parliament last month, when she accused the British monarch of genocide. Thorpe, an independent senator and Indigenous activist, interrupted the King’s speech, rejecting his sovereignty over Australia. 

Both the ruling Labor party and the opposition coalition backed the censure motion, which is symbolic and has no legal consequences. The motion criticized Thorpe for disrupting proceedings and disrespecting democratic institutions. 

Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, responded defiantly, calling those who supported the motion "hypocrites" and asserting that it was a distraction from real issues facing Indigenous Australians. “I’ll do it again, and I’ll do it every time,” she said. "My loyalty lies with my people, with justice, not with a government or a crown that has systematically worked to erase us." 

This protest was not Thorpe’s first disruption; in 2022, she had to retake her oath of office after altering it to label Queen Elizabeth a colonizer. Thorpe’s actions reflect broader tensions in Australia’s ongoing struggle to reconcile with its Indigenous population, who are deeply affected by the legacy of British colonization.

The Senate also passed a censure motion against United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet for offensive comments made on social media following Donald Trump's election as U.S. President.

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