Australian lawmakers have voted to censure an Aboriginal senator who criticized King Charles during a visit to Canberra last month, expressing “deep disapproval” of her opposition.
Lidia Thorpe shouted “you are not my King” and “this is not your land” shortly after the King spoke in the Great Hall of Parliament, in an attempt to highlight the effects of colonization your.
The Senate censure, which passed 46-12, described Thorpe’s actions as “disrespectful and disruptive” and said they should remove her from representing the chamber in her capacity. be a member of any delegation.
A motion of censure is politically symbolic but has no constitutional or legal value.
Immediately after Monday’s Senate vote, Thorpe told reporters that she was denied the right to respond in the chamber due to a flight delay.
“The UK has committed heinous crimes against the first peoples of this country… I will not be silent,” the independent senator said.
Her protest last month attracted immediate anger from across the political spectrum, as well as from a number of prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders.
But it also drew praise from some activists, who argued that it highlighted the plight of Australia’s first inhabitants, who endured colonial violence and still face with severe disadvantages in health, wealth, education and life expectancy compared to non-indigenous Australians.
Despite opposition, the King was warmly welcomed by Australian crowds during his five-day tour with Queen Camilla.
“You have shown profound respect for Australians, even at a time when we are debating the future of our own constitutional arrangements and the nature of our relationship with the crown . Nothing stands still,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in an official speech.
Thorpe has a history of Indigenous activism, which at times has made global headlines.
During her swearing-in ceremony in 2022, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman called Queen Elizabeth II a colonial invader – and was asked to retake the oath after facing criticism.
Last year, Australia firmly rejected a proposal to recognize the constitution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and allow them to establish a body to advise parliament on issues affecting their communities. .
The referendum – known as the Voice – has been locked in a tense campaign and both political sides have sought to move forward quickly, leaving uncertainty about future policy.
Although data shows the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people voted ‘Yes’, support is far from unanimous. Thorpe himself is a leading ‘No’ campaigner, having criticized the measure as symbolic.
