Indigenous Senator’s Outburst Marks King Charles III‘s Visit to Australia
CANBERRA, Australia — An Indigenous senator confronted King Charles III during a royal visit to Australia’s parliament on Monday, claiming that the land does not belong to the British monarch.
Sen. Lidia Thorpe was escorted out of a parliamentary reception after loudly condemning British colonizers for taking Indigenous land and remains. “You committed genocide against our people,” she shouted. “Give us what you stole from us — our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty.”
No treaty has ever been established between British colonizers and Australia’s Indigenous peoples.
As Thorpe shouted, security officials intervened to prevent her from approaching the king. “This is not your land. You are not my king,” she declared as she was led away.
Thorpe is known for her bold protest actions. Upon her affirmation as senator in 2022, she was prohibited from referring to then-monarch Queen Elizabeth II as “the colonizing Her Majesty.” Notably, she disrupted a police float during Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras last year by lying in the street. Additionally, she faced a lifetime ban from a Melbourne strip club after a video surfaced showing her verbally abusing male patrons.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who advocates for Australia to become a republic with its own head of state, made an indirect reference to the topic in his speech welcoming the monarch. “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,” he stated, adding, “nothing stands still.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton, in favor of maintaining the British king as Australia’s monarch, remarked on the attendance of republic supporters at the reception, jokingly saying, “People have had haircuts, people have shined shoes, suits have been pressed and that’s just the republicans.”
However, all six state governments declined invitations to the reception, citing other engagements on Monday, prompting monarchists to suggest the royals had been snubbed.
During his speech, Charles expressed gratitude to Canberra Indigenous elder Auntie Violet Sheridan for her warm welcome. “Let me also say how deeply I appreciated this morning’s moving Welcome to Country ceremony, which offers me the opportunity to pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, and all First Nations peoples who have loved and cared for this continent for 65,000 years,” Charles said. He further acknowledged the influence of Indigenous cultures on his life, saying, “I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”
A referendum in 1999 saw Australians vote to retain Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, a decision attributed to disagreements over how a president would be chosen rather than strong support for the monarchy. Albanese has ruled out holding another referendum during his current term but mentioned the possibility if his Labor Party is re-elected by May next year.
Months before his visit, Charles became embroiled in the republic debate. The Australian Republic Movement, advocating for severing constitutional ties with Britain, reached out to Charles in December, seeking a meeting and support for their cause. Buckingham Palace responded that such meetings would be determined by the Australian government, with no official itinerary reflecting a meeting with the ARM.
“Whether Australia becomes a republic is … a matter for the Australian public to decide,” the Buckingham Palace letter clarified.
Earlier on Monday, Charles and Camilla paid their respects at the Australian War Memorial and met with well-wishers. The memorial reported that about 4,000 people attended to greet the royal couple.
Charles, 75, is currently under cancer treatment, resulting in a reduced itinerary for this visit, his 17th to Australia, and his first as king since 2022. This marks the first visit by a reigning British monarch to Australia since his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, visited in 2011.
Following a day of rest after their arrival on Friday, the royal couple made their first public appearance at a church service in Sydney on Sunday, before traveling to Canberra for the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier and the parliamentary reception.
Before departing the memorial, they greeted a crowd gathered under clear skies, where the temperature reached a pleasant 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit).
On Wednesday, Charles will travel to Samoa to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.