An Australian senator has called the Queen a “coloniser” as she was sworn into Parliament.
Lidia Thorpe, an indigenous senator, was urged to repeat the formal oath of allegiance after adding in the word “colonising”.
Ms Thorpe said: “I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising her majesty Queen Elizabeth II," with her right fist raised above her head.
Lidia Thorpe
Reuters
The Queen
Kirsty O'Connor
The word “colonising” is not included in the official oath.
She was slammed by other colleagues, with one shouting out “You’re not a senator if you don’t do it properly.”
While Senate President Sue Lines stepped in to say: “You are required to recite the oath as printed on the card.
“Please recite the oath.”
As criticism continued to mount from colleagues, Ms Thorpe repeated the oath as it was printed.
She later said “sovereignty never ceded” accompanied by a photo of her swearing into Parliament.
Ms Thorpe has been a senator since September 2020, and was re-elected at the Federal election in May.
