King Charles has been heckled by an Indigenous Australian senator, who called for a treaty and accused the crown of stealing Aboriginal land, as he concluded a speech at Parliament House in Canberra.
Charles, on a five-day visit to Australia with Queen Camilla, addressed MPs and senators in the Great Hall of Parliament House on Monday. It was a key moment of his inaugural visit to Australia as monarch.
As he finished the speech – which covered his time as a school student in Australia, the Covid pandemic and Australia’s vulnerability to climate change – Lidia Thorpe, an independent senator from Victoria, approached the stage yelling “this is not your country”.
“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,” shouted Thorpe, who is a fiercely outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights.
“You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty in this country. You are a genocidalist.”
As security officers escorted her to the doors, she shouted: “This is not your land. You are not my king. You are not our king.”
As she left the hall and was forced back into the foyer, Thorpe, who was dressed in a long possum skin coat, could be heard shouting: “Fuck the colony.”
Charles had turned to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and talked quietly on the podium as security prevented Thorpe from approaching the monarch.
Earlier, as Thorpe waited among invited guests inside the Great Hall before the royal couple entered, the senator turned her back on a large video screen when it showed King Charles standing to attention outside during the official welcome and the playing of the national anthem.
Before the king’s speech, Albanese and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, welcomed Charles and Camilla to Parliament House, thanking them for standing with Australians in good times and bad.
Albanese called it one of the honours of his life to have led the Australian delegation attending the King’s coronation and praised the King’s engagement on issues including climate change and reconciliation.
“You have shown great respect for Australians, even during times where we’ve debated the future of our own constitutional arrangements and the nature of our relationship with the crown,” Albanese said. “Nothing stands still.”
Earlier on Thursday, Thorpe released a statement arguing that Australia should become a republic and establish a treaty with First Nations people as part of that process.
She said there was “unfinished business that we need to resolve before this country can become a republic”.
“As First Peoples, we never ceded our sovereignty over this land. The crown invaded this country, has not sought treaty with First Peoples, and committed a genocide of our people. King Charles is not the legitimate sovereign of these lands. Any move towards a republic must not continue this injustice. Treaty must play a central role in establishing an independent nation.”