Australian senator censured for heckling King
Australian lawmakers have voted to formally censure Aboriginal senator Lidia Thorpe for heckling King Charles during his visit to Canberra last month, expressing their “strong disapproval” of her protest.
Thorpe shouted “you are not my King” and “this is not your land” shortly after the King addressed the Great Hall of Parliament, aiming to draw attention to the effects of British colonization.
The censure, which passed with a vote of 46-12, labeled Thorpe’s actions as “disrespectful and disruptive,” and stated that they should disqualify her from representing the chamber on any official delegation.
While the censure motion is politically symbolic and has no legal or constitutional implications, it reflects the Senate’s stance.
After the vote on Monday, Thorpe told reporters that she had been denied the opportunity to respond in the chamber due to a flight delay. “The British Crown committed heinous crimes against the first peoples of this country… I will not be silent,” she said, standing by her protest.
Her protest last month drew immediate ire from across the political aisle, as well as from some 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 acute disadvantages in terms of health, wealth, education, and life expectancy compared to non-Indigenous Australians.
Despite the protest, the King was warmly greeted by Australian crowds during his five-day tour alongside Queen Camilla.
“You have shown great respect for Australians, even during times when we have debated 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 address.
Thorpe has a history of Indigenous activism which has, at times, grabbed global headlines.
During her swearing in ceremony in 2022, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman referred to the Queen Elizabeth II as a coloniser – and was asked to retake her oath after facing criticism.
Last year, Australia decisively rejected a proposal to grant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people constitutional recognition and allow them to establish a body to advise parliament on issues impacting their communities.
The referendum – known as the Voice – became ensnared in a bruising campaign, and both sides of politics have sought to move on swiftly, leaving uncertainty over future policy.
While the data suggests a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people voted ‘Yes’, support wasn’t unanimous. Thorpe herself was a leading ‘No’ campaigner, having criticised the measure as tokenistic.
