Australian aboriginal lawmaker who heckled King Charles censured

SYDNEY - An indigenous lawmaker was censured by Australia’s Parliament on Nov 18 for heckling Britain’s King Charles about the legacy of European settlement

during his October visit to Canberra

.

The censure carries no practical punishment but passed the Senate on Nov 18 with 46 votes in favour and 12 against.

During the King’s visit to Parliament, independent Senator Lidia Thorpe screamed: “This is not your land, you are not my king,” decrying what she said was a “genocide” of indigenous Australians by European settlers.

She had also turned her back on the King as dignitaries stood for the national anthem.

The censure motion condemned Ms Thorpe’s actions as “disruptive and disrespectful”.

It also said the Senate no longer regarded it “appropriate” for her to be a member of any delegation “during the life of this Parliament”.

A censure motion is a symbolic gesture when parliamentarians are dissatisfied with the behaviour of one of their own.

Ms Thorpe – sporting a gold chain with the words “Not My King” around her neck – said she did not “give a damn” about the censure and would most likely use the document as “kindling” later in the week.

She told national broadcaster ABC she would “do it again” if the monarch returned.

“I will resist colonisation in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands: First Peoples are the real sovereigns,” she said.

Green Senator Mehreen Faruqi voted against Ms Thorpe’s censure, saying the lawmaker was telling Australia’s history “the way she wants to”.

Ms Thorpe is known for her attention-grabbing political stunts and fierce opposition to the monarchy.

When she was sworn into office in 2022, she raised her right fist as she begrudgingly swore to serve Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Australia’s head of state.

Australia was a British colony for more than 100 years, during which thousands of aboriginal Australians were killed and entire communities displaced.

The country gained de facto independence in 1901, but has never become a fully fledged republic.

King Charles is the current head of state.

The issue of a republic reared its head during the King’s visit to Australia earlier in 2024, but the issue remains a political non-starter.

A recent poll showed about a third of Australians would like to ditch the monarchy, a third would keep it, whereas the remaining third are ambivalent.

In 1999, Australians narrowly voted against removing the Queen, amid a row over whether her replacement would be chosen by MPs, not the public. AFP