Suspension, censure ‘badges of honour’: Lidia Thorpe
Kat Wong |
Outspoken senator Lidia Thorpe has stood defiant despite everything parliament has thrown her way.
In just two weeks, the Senate has voted to censure and suspend the Victorian politician, while an upper chamber colleague has reportedly sought legal action over a comment she made.
But Senator Thorpe remains unbothered.
Stretching the limits of her suspension, she entered the Senate press gallery on Thursday morning and called for a “free Palestine” as debate rumbled in the chamber below.
A few hours later, she attended a protest with Indigenous activists in front of Parliament House and said it was the “best day off I’ve ever had”.
“I’ve been suspended, I’ve been censured and I wear those disciplinary colonial actions like a badge of honour,” she said.
“To see my mob coming from every part of this country, telling the truth about what’s going on in their communities … they are my party room.”
The Senate suspended Senator Thorpe on Wednesday night after she threw pieces of paper at One Nation politician Pauline Hanson, with the government, coalition, Senators Hanson, David Pocock and Ralph Babet all voting to oust her.
“The Senate had to push back,” manager of government business in the Senate Katy Gallagher said.
“If people saw what happened yesterday, they would not tolerate it in their workplace.”
Senator Thorpe insists it is no coincidence she has been suspended on the day her bill was scheduled for debate.
The push would strip the attorney-general of his power to block the prosecution of genocide and other atrocities in Australian courts, though the senator was unable to speak to it in the chamber.
However, the suspension ended up working against Labor when its first attempt to guillotine bills in the Senate fell short by one vote.
“They certainly got wedged,” Senator Thorpe said.
“While I’m out enjoying the sunshine and good company, they’re losing out on passing legislation.”
Senator Thorpe could also face a defamation case from One Nation leader Senator Hanson after she called her a “convicted racist” during a television interview on Nine’s Today show.
The Victorian was referring to a November ruling, where a judge found Senator Hanson’s 2022 tweet telling Greens deputy Mehreen Faruqi to “piss off back to Pakistan” was a strong form of racism.
Though this was a legal finding, it arose from a civil case – not a criminal case – and lawyers for Senator Hanson said the Victorian’s comments were “patently false” and called on Nine to withdraw the allegation and apologise.
But Senator Thorpe has backed her comments.
“Hanson can do what she likes with her platform but I will never stand silent while there’s people being racially vilified,” she told reporters in Canberra.
All this comes after the Senate officially reprimanded the independent over her protest at a parliamentary ceremony for King Charles during the monarch’s Australian tour.
Senator Thorpe said he was “not our king” and accused him of committing “genocide” against Indigenous Australians.
Though a month has passed since the outburst, she still has no regrets.
“We want our land back, we want our babies back, and we do want the king to just f*** off,” Senator Thorpe said.
AAP