Being sworn into Parliament was an opportunity for Indigenous senator, Lidia Thorpe to vocalise her thoughts on sovereignty and history. Declaring the Queen a Coloniser, Thorpe was asked to repeat her pledge, and abstain from using the ‘C’ word again.
Indigenous Greens senator, Lidia Thorpe was away from Parliament last week when all of the other senators were officially sworn in, so she took her oath on Monday morning. In what can be seen as a passionate display of emotion, with a little more than ‘a look’ on her face that she had something to say, Thorpe walked the Senate floor with her right fist raised high in the air, as she prepared to recite the words prewritten on a card.
Thorpe’s first attempt went like this: “I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising her majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
Take note that the word “colonising” is not in the original oath.
Lidia Thorpe was forced to do over her ‘allegiance to the Queen’ pledge, after the Senate president refrained her from adding “colonising” to her oath.
Thorpe, the Greens senator for Victoria, was instantly reprimanded by her colleagues, “You’re not a senator if you don’t do it properly.” I guess you have to play by the book if you want a seat at the table!
Sue Lines called for Thorpe to do over the pledge: “You are required to recite the oath as printed on the card,” Lines told the Greens senator.
“Please recite the oath.”
Needless to say, Thorpe’s attempt to highlight how she feels about the pledge of allegiance to the Queen, has been met with mixed reactions, as per Twitter below.
“Coolest senator ever? Many are saying yes” and “very disrespectful Senator, that is no way to perform in Parliament, it will not do your cause any good. Respect is a two-way street.”
Sovereignty never ceded. https://t.co/OowLrlUApy
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) August 1, 2022
Good job. 100% behind you.
— @davidwild 🇺🇦 (@davidwild66) August 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/OriginalAussie/status/1553903123370233856?s=20&t=u9MZVgolXRXBEWOaOyxYRA