An Australian senator called the Queen a “coloniser” while making her oath of allegiance at Federal Parliament on Monday.
Lidia Thorpe is a senator for the Green Party and a member of Australia’s First Nations community.
During the oath of allegiance she held a fist above her head and said: “I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.”
Thorpe was interrupted by Senate President, Sue Lines, who made her restart.
Another senator could be heard saying, “you can’t be a senator if you don’t do it properly.”
Following the session, Thorpe tweeted “sovereignty never ceded.”
Green Party leader Adam Bandt agreed with Thorpe, tweeting that the Queen: “Always was, always will be” a coloniser.
Thorpe also caused controversy in the Senate last month after saying that the Australian flag did not represent her.
Thorpe was elected to represent Victoria in the Senate in 2017 and has been outspoken regarding de-colonisation in Australia while serving as the Green’s First Nations spokesperson and deputy leader in the Senate.
This comes as Australia continues to debate whether Indigenous Australians should have a voice in parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has proposed a referendum to amend Australia’s constitution which would allow for an indigenous voice.
The proposed referendum question is: "Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?"
Albanese believes success in the referendum will “uplift the whole nation”.
If the referendum passes indigenous Australians will have a greater voice in parliament following decades of oppression.
It is estimated that 20,000 First Nations people died as a direct result of colonial violence.
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