Senator Lidia Thorpe’s protest against King Charles III may force her to resign as she certainly kicked up a storm attracting global headlines. She made a public declaration at a parliamentary reception, accusing King Charles of being an accomplice to genocide and demanding that land be returned to the Indigenous Australians.
The protest is a recurring theme for Senator Lidpe but this time it would attract attention as she is doing so during a visit by King Charles to Australia. She was shouting “You are not our king,” demanding a treaty and reparations for Indigenous people. Arguably this act of defiance has become catalytic to the debate side that argues against Thorpe contests her methods, while the other argues in support of her demands for truth-telling and justice.
The senator stated:
“You are not our king. You are not sovereign. You are not our king. You are not sovereign. 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. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want treaty.”
Senator Thorpe’s protest against King Charles triggered opposition leader
She protested which led to opposition leader Peter Dutton demanding Thorpe’s resignation from parliament, stating her actions were in bad taste and self-serving. According to him, as one defender of the system, Thorpe should have stopped benefiting from it if she did not believe in the system. Her annual salary as a parliamentarian says it all. His statements read:
“I think there’s a very strong argument for somebody who doesn’t believe in the system, but is willing to take a quarter of a million dollars a year from the system, to resign in principle. If you were really truly about your cause and not just about yourself, then I think that’s a decision that you would make.”
Thorpe remained defiant and indicated that this would be her final few years left in parliament fighting for Indigenous sovereignty and justice. She rejected Dutton’s call to resign and committed to Aboriginal truth-telling. When asked why she did it, she said:
“You are not our king. You are not sovereign. You are not our king. You are not sovereign. 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. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want treaty.”
As the whole world has been debating the British monarchy’s role in colonization with regard to crimes committed in Australia and in other parts of the world, Thorpe protests against King Charles. During his visit, he reportedly met with the Indigenous leaders and communities across Britain, showing to what extent the monarchy had left huge imprints on Indigenous people.
King Charles and his controversial past
It has generated much discussion among people, claiming that the British monarchy needs to take responsibility for its colonial past. King Charles’ reign has not been without controversy. While he may be modernizing the monarchy and seeking to right many past wrongs, his appointment following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 has left many people wondering whether or not he is the right man for the job.
Certainly, he has had his share of controversies throughout his life, including friendships with certain individuals- Jimmy Savile and Jimmy Carr, to name but two that some might consider less than wholesome. His support for action on climate change has been praised by many quarters, yet he is and has to remain, a politically neutral monarch.
Still very much within the public psyche is the tumultuous marriage of King Charles and Princess Diana with its following public fallout, making his accession to the throne even more controversy-ridden.
Senator Thorpe’s protest against King Charles has brought forth long-standing debates about the monarchy and thrown a national conversation in Australia into full throttle. As debates continue, the protest has no doubt thrown a spotlight onto both the career of Senator Thorpe and that of King Charles.
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