King
Charles heckled by Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe at Australia’s Parliament
House
Independent
senator yells ‘this is not your country’ and ‘give us a treaty’ at monarch
during key event of king’s five-day visit to Australia
Kate Lyons
and Karen Middleton
Mon 21 Oct
2024 05.50 BST
King Charles
has been heckled by an Indigenous Australian senator, who called for a treaty
and accused the crown of stealing Aboriginal land, as he concluded a speech at
Parliament House in Canberra.
Charles, on
a five-day visit to Australia with Queen Camilla, addressed MPs and senators in
the Great Hall of Parliament House on Monday. It was a key moment of his
inaugural visit to Australia as monarch.
As he
finished the speech – which covered his time as a school student in Australia,
the Covid pandemic and Australia’s vulnerability to climate change – Lidia
Thorpe, an independent senator from Victoria, approached the stage yelling
“this is not your country”.
“You
committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you
stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” shouted Thorpe,
who is a fiercely outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights.
“You
destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty in this country. You are
a genocidalist.”
As security
officers escorted her to the doors, she shouted: “This is not your land. You
are not my king. You are not our king.”
As she left
the hall and was forced back into the foyer, Thorpe, who was dressed in a long
possum skin coat, could be heard shouting: “Fuck the colony.”
Charles had
turned to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and talked quietly on the
podium as security prevented Thorpe from approaching the monarch.
Earlier, as
Thorpe waited among invited guests inside the Great Hall before the royal
couple entered, the senator turned her back on a large video screen when it
showed King Charles standing to attention outside during the official welcome
and the playing of the national anthem.
Before the
king’s speech, Albanese and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, welcomed
Charles and Camilla to Parliament House, thanking them for standing with
Australians in good times and bad.
Albanese
called it one of the honours of his life to have led the Australian delegation
attending the King’s coronation and praised the King’s engagement on issues
including climate change and reconciliation.
“You have
shown great respect for Australians, even during times where we’ve debated the
future of our own constitutional arrangements and the nature of our
relationship with the crown,” Albanese said. “Nothing stands still.”
Former prime
minister Tony Abbott, who was at the event, expressed his dismay at the
protest, labelling it “unfortunate political exhibitionism”.
Abbott is an
avowed royalist, who caused widespread national outrage in 2014 for
reintroducing the knights and dames honours system to Australia and then
awarding the title to Prince Philip.
Businessman
Dick Smith, another guest at the reception, said the disruption was an
illustration of Australian democracy.
“That’s the
wonderful part of our democracy – that she’s not going to be put in jail,” he
said.
Earlier on
Thursday, Thorpe released a statement arguing that Australia should become a
republic and establish treaty with First Nations people as part of that
process.
She said
there was “unfinished business that we need to resolve before this country can
become a republic”.
“As First
Peoples, we never ceded our sovereignty over this land. The crown invaded this
country, has not sought treaty with First Peoples, and committed a genocide of
our people. King Charles is not the legitimate sovereign of these lands. Any
move towards a republic must not continue this injustice. Treaty must play a
central role in establishing an independent nation.”
Earlier in
the day, Charles and Camilla greeted members of the public at the Australian
War Memorial, shaking hands and high-fiving children. Among them was Hephner
the alpaca, resplendent in a gold crown, bow tie and blue velvet suit, who had
the chance to meet Charles.
“We just
thought, what an opportunity to dress him up as royalty and bring him today,”
said Hephner’s owner Robert Fletcher.
“I think
this is probably the last opportunity that you’ll ever get to see them,
certainly in my lifetime and probably my daughter’s lifetime as well,” said
Fletcher.
Earlier on,
a protest group near the memorial was directed by ACT police to move on and
complied.
Later,
police confirmed a 62-year-old man was arrested outside the memorial, for
allegedly failing to comply with a police direction. He was expected to be
charged, police said.
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