Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe interrupted King Charles III’s speech at Australia’s Parliament House on Monday, shouting, “You are not my king.” From the back of the room, the Independent senator called out to the royal couple, demanding, “Give us our land back, give us what you stole,” before being escorted out by security.
Thorpe, known for her activism on Indigenous rights and progressive causes, has frequently sparked controversy with her outspoken public demonstrations throughout her political career.
Thorpe’s interruption was a call for a treaty with Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and a denunciation of the British colonization of the country. The protest took place in a room filled with politicians and dignitaries gathered to hear the king.
Who is Lidia Thorpe?
Lidia Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara, and Djab Wurrung woman, comes from a family of prominent Aboriginal activists. At 51, Thorpe has had a long history of involvement in Indigenous advocacy, including serving as chair of Victoria’s NAIDOC committee, which honors the history and culture of Indigenous Australians.
In 2017, she became the first Indigenous woman elected to Victoria’s state parliament as a member of the progressive Greens party. Though she lost her seat in 2018, Thorpe returned to politics as a federal senator in 2020. During this time, she carried a message stick marked with 441 symbols representing each Indigenous death in custody since a 1991 royal commission.
Re-elected in 2022, Thorpe made headlines when, during her oath of office, she referred to Queen Elizabeth II as “the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” prompting her to restart the oath with the official wording. Thorpe briefly served as deputy leader of the Greens in the Senate but stepped down after it was revealed she had a relationship with Dean Martin, former president of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang, while serving on a parliamentary law enforcement committee.
