The Australian Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday to censure Senator Lidia Thorpe, an independent representing Indigenous Australians, for her expletive-laden outburst directed at King Charles III during a recent parliamentary reception, The Associated Press reports.
The motion passed with a 46-12 vote.
The censure, a symbolic gesture of disapproval, followed King Charles’s first visit to Australia in 13 years. Senator Thorpe’s tirade, which occurred as she was being escorted from the reception following the King’s speech, included accusations of genocide and demands for the return of Indigenous lands and remains.
“You are not our king. You are not sovereign,” Thorpe shouted. “You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.”
Government Senate Leader Penny Wong condemned Thorpe’s actions, characterizing them as an attempt to “incite outrage and grievance” and part of a concerning international trend. Wong stated that this type of behavior is unacceptable in Australia.
Despite the censure, Thorpe remained defiant. Absent from the vote due to a delayed flight from Melbourne, she later told reporters that she would repeat her outburst if given the opportunity.
“If the colonizing king were to come to my country again, our country, then I’ll do it again,” she declared.
Thorpe claimed that the government senators refused to delay the vote to allow her presence.
