Lidia Thorpe has made the extraordinary claim that she pledged her allegiance to the Queen’s ‘hairs’ – rather than ‘heirs’ – when she was sworn in as a senator more than two years ago.
Ms Thorpe made global headlines when she screamed at King Charles and Queen Camilla during a parliamentary reception on Monday, accusing the King of ‘(committing) genocide against our people’ and yelling ‘f*** the colony’.
Ms Thorpe was asked by the ABC on Wednesday afternoon if she then would renounce her sworn affirmation to ‘bear true allegiance’ to the monarchy, which she made when she was sworn in as a Greens senator in 2020.
She then made the extraordinary claim: ‘I swore allegiance to the Queen’s hairs, if you listen close enough’.
‘It was her hairs, not her heirs, that I was giving my allegiance to, and now that they are no longer here, I don’t know where that stands’.
‘I’m not giving up my job – I’m not resigning’.
Surprised host Greg Jennett responded by asking whether that made her position in the Senate untenable.
‘What is the significance of that mispronunciation?…Does it invalidate your statement of affirmation?’
Ms Thorpe said: ‘I am not an expert on the colonial laws… This country wants to swear allegiance to a king from another country whose ancestors have been responsible for massacres, so many massacres in our country…
‘Why would I, with my hand on my heart, kneel to an oppressor? A murdering thief’.
Senator Thorpe shouted at the King following a speech he gave at Parliament House, which was also attended by the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
‘You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back,’ she said.
‘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.’
Security guards quickly began to usher Ms Thorpe away, however she became more animated and continued on with her tirade.
‘This is not your land. This is not your land. You are not my King. You are not my King,’ she screamed.
The King and Queen, who were still seated on the stage during the confrontation, appeared to take no notice of the bizarre outburst.
The King then turned to speak to the Prime Minister and Camilla turned towards Mr Albanese’s wife.
Moments before she screamed at the King, Ms Thorpe had her back turned while the anthem was played.
She was also seen arguing with a police officer near the n War Memorial while she was protesting the visit of the King and Queen Camilla to Canberra.
Senator Thorpe quit the Greens Party last year and moved to the Crossbench and is currently serving her constituents as an Independent.
She said she wanted to represent the ‘black sovereign movement’.
‘I want to represent that movement fully in this parliament. It has become clear to me that I can’t do that from within the Greens,’ she said.
‘Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions’.