The federal Coalition is seeking advice on Lidia Thorpe’s eligibility to sit in parliament, as the outspoken independent backtracked on allegations she deliberately misrepresented her Senate oath.
Senator Thorpe told the ABC on Wednesday that she had sworn allegiance to “the Queen’s hair” rather than “the Queen’s heirs” to justify disrupting a parliamentary reception for King Charles III and insulting the monarch on Monday. .
The Coalition is now seeking legal advice on Senator Thorpe’s parliamentary status.
The opposition leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, has also raised questions about whether he could legally sit in the Upper House if he had not properly taken the oath of allegiance.
“This is a deeply serious claim that calls into question his eligibility to participate in Senate proceedings,” Senator Birmingham said Thursday.
‘Article 42 of the Constitution requires a senator to take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation before taking his seat in the Senate.
“Therefore, a senator must take an oath before joining the Senate or participating in its debates.”
The oath that all senators take upon taking office reads: “I… swear that I will be faithful and maintain true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors according to law.”
On Wednesday, Senator Thorpe told the ABC she only remembered pledging allegiance to the Queen’s “hairs” rather than her “heirs”.
Senator Lidia Thorpe disrupted a parliamentary reception held in Canberra for King Charles III on Monday.
“If you listen closely enough, it wasn’t his ‘heirs,’ it was his ‘hairs’ that I was giving my loyalty to and now that they’re no longer here, I don’t know where that is,” he said. .
After the comments led some to question the legality of her position, Senator Thorpe denied the mispronunciation was deliberate.
The independent senator told Sky News that she “spoke what she read on the card”, on which “heirs” was written.
“Now forgive me… my English grammar is not as good as others, and I spoke what I read, so I made a mistake,” he said.
“So for this country to question, and particularly people like Dutton and other senators in his party, to question my legitimacy in this job is an insult.
“And they can’t get rid of me, so I have another three and a half years left. I’m sorry to those who don’t like me, but I’m here to do a job.”
Senator Birmingham has asked the President of the Senate, Washington Labor Senator Sue Lines, to investigate the matter.
Senator Birmingham compared Thorpe’s swearing-in comments to Irish republican members of Sinn Fein elected to the UK parliament who rejected a pledge of loyalty to the Crown.
Controversy has erupted over whether Senator Lidia Thorpe should be allowed to sit in the Upper House after she revealed she mispronounced the oath of office.
“Lidia Thorpe doesn’t show that kind of principle,” Senator Birmingham said. The Australian.
“She wants to try to have it both ways.”
“He’s in the Senate because people voted Green and that should be a warning to Australian voters that if they vote Green they will get this kind of extremist senator.”
At Monday’s reception for King Charles and Queen Camilla, Senator Thorpe approached the stage in a possum fur cape.
‘You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty in this country. “You are a genocide,” she shouted as the security agents approached to intercept her.
As she was dragged out of the reception, Senator Thorpe shouted: ‘This is not your land. You are not my king. You are not our king.
ANU constitutional law expert Ron Levy said the High Court could potentially rule that Thorpe was never qualified to be in the Senate, which could lead to his expulsion.
“They can’t expel her from parliament for swearing, for insulting the king,” he told Nine News.
King Charles (pictured right) sits with Queen Camilla during the reception interrupted by Senator Thorpe.
‘However, there may be a successful court case for his lack of oath, for his revelation that he did not actually take the oath of allegiance.
“There is some chance that the court will accept the claim that she did not properly take the oath.”
When taking the parliamentary oath of allegiance in August 2022, Senator Thorpe added the words “the colonizer Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth”.
Senator Lines interrupted and had Senator Thorpe restart and declare the oath as written, which she apparently did while raising a fist in a “black power” salute.
