A newly elected Australian senator has been embroiled in controversy after referring to the Queen of England as the “colonizer” during her swearing-in ceremony.
Lidia Thorpe, an Aboriginal lawmaker from Australia’s Victoria province, was not present in parliament when the rest of the members were sworn in last week and were therefore sworn in on Monday, The Guardian reported. In a video shared online, she is seen approaching the Senate with her right fist in the air before reciting the pledge.
“I, Sovereign Lydia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be and remain faithful to Her Majesty’s colonizer Queen Elizabeth II,” he said.
However, she was criticized for it, with one unidentified lawmaker saying, “You’re not a senator if you don’t do it right.” Several other members are also heard protesting the taking of Thorpe.
After that, Labor leader Sue Lines in the chair paused and asked Thrope to repeat the oath verbatim.
Djab Wurrung and Gunnai Gunditjmara senator for Australia’s Green Party, Lidia Thorpe, called the country’s symbolic head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, a colonizer as she took her oath of office. pic.twitter.com/phS9lUcsDp
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 2, 2022
“You must recite the oath as it is printed on the card, so please recite the oath,” he told Thorpe.
Thorpe is then seen repeating the oath, but with a sarcastic accent on the words “sincerely” and “declare”. He later tweeted, “Sovereignty never yielded,” along with a photograph of the incident.