Govind Tekale
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe disrupted King Charles III’s speech at Australia’s Parliament House on Monday, shouting “You are not my king” and demanding the return of stolen lands. The incident occurred during the monarch’s visit to the Australian capital Canberra to meet the nation’s leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Thorpe, a Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, turned her back during “God Save the King” while wearing a possum-fur coat. Security officers escorted her from the chamber after she called out, “Give us our land back, give us what you stole.”
Historical Context and Indigenous Rights
The arrival of British settlers to Australia led to the massacre of Indigenous people at hundreds of locations around the country until as recently as the 1930s. The Aboriginal population never ceded sovereignty and has not engaged in a treaty process with the British Crown.
In his speech, Charles acknowledged First Nations people, stating: “Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have done me the great honor of sharing so generously their stories and cultures.” He added, “I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”
Political Reactions
The Australian Monarchist League demanded Thorpe’s resignation after what it called a “childish demonstration.” When asked about the incident, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Charles was doing a “fantastic job,” adding, “We should remember in the context of health, that he is out there doing his public service notwithstanding the health challenges he himself has had.”
Former senator Nova Peris criticized Thorpe on social media, noting that Thorpe had sworn allegiance to the Crown during her 2022 swearing-in ceremony. Peris wrote: “If Senator Thorpe was not on board with this, she should not have accepted her position and made her affirmation in the first place.”
Lynda-June Coe, a Wiradjuri Badu activist and former Greens candidate, emphasized the importance of sovereignty and self-determination for First Nations people, stating, “Lidia really embodies what the modern-day warrior actually is about… never wavering from those issues on treaty, truth-telling, but more importantly, sovereignty and self-determination”
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According to Australian government data, social determinants explain an estimated 35% of the health gap between First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians.
In October 2023, over 60% of Australians voted against the ‘Voice To Parliament’ referendum, which proposed recognizing First Nations people in the constitution through an advisory body.
Current Royal Tour
Charles and Queen Camilla participated in a traditional Aboriginal welcoming ceremony outside Parliament House. At the Sydney Opera House, Indigenous activist Wayne Wharton was arrested after shouting anti-monarchist slogans and refusing police orders to move on.
“King Charles faced another day of protests as he rounded up his Australian tour. Protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “no pride in genocide” as he exited the Indigenous Center in Sydney,“ said Chris Baron Smith a community enthusiast.
The royal schedule includes visits to Parliament House and the Botanic Gardens for tree plantings. Prime Minister Albanese commended the royal couple for their charitable work and noted the king’s appreciation of climate change issues. The tour continues to Samoa for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
