Senator Lidia Thorpe claimed a Liberal senator whispered “don’t play” to her before she shouted at King Charles in the Great Hall of Parliament on Monday.
King Charles visited Australia’s highest office to address MPs and senators as part of his five-day royal tour of Australia with Queen Camilla.
His visit was overshadowed by an outburst from Senator Thorpe who shouted at the king as he finished his speech in scenes that were televised around the world.
During an interview with The Saturday Paper, Senator Thorpe said one Liberal Senate colleague tried to “shoulder her out of the way” and then another whispered: “Don’t play.”
Senator Thorpe revealed she was carrying a court order from her uncle Robbie summoning the monarch to the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.
Senator Thorpe told the newspaper that she had requested a meeting with the king and that she intended to deliver the order to him quietly.
“If he had walked past me, I would have politely said, ‘King, you have been served,'” he said.
Instead, the senator became enraged and “watched the pompousness, the extravagance, and then the blatant disregard for what had happened to our people.”
King Charles’ visit was overshadowed by an outburst from Senator Thorpe (pictured), who shouted at the king as he finished his speech in scenes that were televised around the world.
Senator Thorpe revealed she was carrying a court order from her uncle Robbie summoning the monarch to the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity.
‘You are not our king. You are not sovereign,’ he shouted at the monarch,
‘You committed genocide against our people. Give us back our land.
‘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 in this country. You are a genocide. This is not your land. This is not your land. You are not my king. You are not our king. Screw the colony, screw the colony, screw the colony.
Senator Thorpe told the newspaper that when a black woman spoke out loud, she was criticized as intimidating, angry, sick or having something wrong.
Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers told Sky News that the king and queen appeared “unfazed” by the senator’s outburst.
Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers told Sky News that the king and queen appeared “unfazed” by the senator’s outburst.
“Charles has been on the block a long time, he’s seen it all, I don’t think there’s anything he’s worried about,” he said.
“He had his big moment in the sun, but it certainly didn’t derail the tour.”
Senator Thorpe’s parliamentary colleagues have called on her to resign and leave her Senate role following the stand-off.
