A woman has been accused of assaulting Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe at the MCG in May this year.
The 27-year-old woman allegedly assaulted the senator after the AFL Dreamtime match between Essendon and Richmond at the MCG on May 25, the Herald-Sun reported.
Victoria Police said in a statement that a 27-year-old woman, believed to be an acquaintance of Senator Thorpe, had been charged with two counts of reckless causing injury and three counts of unlawful assault.
“Detectives from the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit have charged a woman following an alleged assault in East Melbourne on May 25,” a police spokeswoman told NewsWire.
‘Investigators allege a woman assaulted another woman outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground after an AFL match at around 10.30pm.
‘The incident was reported to Melbourne East police station on May 26.
‘The woman suffered minor injuries during the incident.
‘Police arrested a 27-year-old Preston woman in Preston on July 25.
Senator Lidia Thorpe claimed she was brutally assaulted at the MCG earlier this year, resulting in a significant spinal injury. Victoria Police said a 27-year-old woman has been charged with assault.
“The woman was charged with two counts of reckless causing injury and three counts of unlawful assault.”
The woman is out on bail and will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on October 28.
Senator Thorpe revealed details of the alleged assault on Friday after The Australian He asked why he had missed a third of the days of parliamentary sessions due to his absences.
“Earlier this year I was assaulted at the MCG,” Thorpe told the publication.
‘I suffered serious injuries to the nerves and spine in my neck, requiring spinal surgery and the insertion of a plate into the back of my neck.
‘There is a scar on the front of my neck because of this. The doctor ordered me not to travel and I was unable to attend parliament. My doctor told me to take time off work. There is currently a police investigation underway.
“It’s a shame they forced me to reveal this to defend myself, when I would have preferred to keep it private, but for you it’s just another day in the colony.”
His absenteeism in Parliament was even worse last year, when he attended only 38 of the 66 session days.
He explained that this was because the Australian Federal Police had advised him to stay home due to “serious far-right threats”.
“Delays to parliament and the AFP’s security review and plan meant I was unable to travel safely to parliament for several months,” the senator said.
Thorpe made the admission after The Australian asked about his absences, revealing he had attended only 45 per cent of parliamentary votes this year.
Thorpe’s admission comes as the Coalition questions his eligibility to remain in Parliament, following a backlash over his tirade against King Charles and his confession that he swore an oath to the late Queen’s ‘hairs’ instead of to his heirs in 2022.
“I think it is completely inappropriate to swear allegiance to someone from another country, whose ancestors have done a lot of harm to my ancestors,” he said.
“I have a seat in the Senate for the next three and a half years and I will use it to get justice for my people.”
Senator Thorpe also defended receiving a salary for sitting in the Senate, saying “it’s to pay the rent, if you will.”
“The colony pays me to raise the issues that my people ask me,” he said.
The federal opposition is examining the senator’s eligibility to sit and participate in upper house proceedings under Article 42 of the Constitution.
“The coalition will explore options and consider legal opinions on the implications of Senator Thorpe’s admission,” said Senate coalition leader Simon Birmingham.
The federal government’s leader in the Senate, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, said Senator Thorpe’s admission about his swearing-in was “somewhat unusual”.
“I have to say that we are all part of an institution which is parliament and our democracy, and within that we have very different points of view,” he told ABC television.
However, Senator Wong said Ms Thorpe needed to “reflect on the institution she is a part of and how she wants to play a role in that institution”.
Labor senator Katy Gallagher also said Thorpe needed to consider his position.
“We need to find a way to ensure that the institution of the Senate… is sustained and respected, and I think that is sometimes challenged by some particular behavior by Senator Thorpe,” he told ABC radio.
‘She also likes the attention that comes from these…public displays.
“We will work with people across the chamber on what the appropriate response is.”