Australian senator brands Queen Elizabeth a coloniser as she’s sworn in

Dave Hanratty

Thorpe was asked to repeat the oath, which she did… with a notable level of sarcasm.

A new senator in Australia caused a stir during her formal swearing-in ceremony as she strayed from the script in order to label Queen Elizabeth II as a coloniser.

Aboriginal politician Lidia Thorpe, who represents the Australian Greens, stood tall in the Senate on Monday (1 August) as she took aim at the Queen, whose status as Australian head of state remains a subject of much controversy and dispute.

Upon being sworn in, Thorpe held her fist aloft and said:

“I, sovereign Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II…”

Upon this declaration, Thorpe was quickly challenged by Senate President Sue Lines as restless murmurs emanated from the chamber.

“Senator Thorpe, you are required to recite the oath as printed on the card,” said Lines. “So, please recite the oath.”

In response, Thorpe recited the written oath with a notable degree of sarcastic emphasis on certain lines while throwing a chuckle in for good measure.

Thorpe’s own Wikipedia page describes her as “outspoken, unorthodox and confrontational” which… yeah, fair enough.

Sky News Australia notes that Thorpe’s outspoken, unorthodox and confrontational manner hasn’t gone down too well with some of her peers, with Aboriginal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price telling The Australian that the comments were evidence of Thorpe’s “immaturity”.

“There is definitely a level of immaturity about that kind of behaviour,” said Price.

“If you want to be a protester, then this isn’t the place for it. Go ahead and join the resistance, but we are there to be legislators for the benefit of our nation.

“I think it is just disruptive behaviour. The majority of us in the Senate today … just saw it as contemptuous behaviour.”