Australia’s Senate censured Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe for her protest against King Charles during his visit last month. Thorpe accused Charles of genocide and rejected his sovereignty over Australia. The motion was supported by both the ruling Labor party and the opposition coalition and is seen as a symbolic move with no legal consequences. Thorpe’s protest was deemed disruptive and disrespectful to democratic institutions. Despite the censure, Thorpe called out the members who supported it as hypocrites and stood by her actions.
Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, has a history of protesting against Britain’s colonization of Australia. She previously had to retake her oath of office after tweaking it to criticize Queen Elizabeth II. Australia has struggled to reconcile with its Indigenous citizens, who are the most disadvantaged group in the country. Despite arriving on the continent thousands of years before British colonists, Indigenous people were marginalized during colonial rule. The country’s constitution, which is over a century old, does not mention Indigenous Australians.
Thorpe’s protest highlights ongoing tensions in Australia regarding its colonial past and treatment of Indigenous peoples. Despite the censure, she remains committed to fighting for justice for her people and continuing to speak out against those in power.
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