Auckland's Mayor voices concerns over America's Cup costs. Gaza sees rising casualties. King Charles visits Australia. Stay updated with key stories from around the world.
Controversial Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe has unloaded on King Charles in a shocking interruption after the monarch’s address to the Great Hall.
Thorpe screamed out “F*** the colony” and “You are not my King” moments Charles delivered his address praising Australia.
She also yelled out a demand for “treaty” and said “You stole our land” and “You are not our King”.
Thorpe was swiftly evicted by security guards and the King and Queen Camilla appeared calm throughout her outburst.
Australian parliamentarians, including a glum-looking Immigration Minister Tony Burke and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, stood quietly as Thorpe hollered at the royal couple.
The group was well away from where the King and Queen appeared.
In a video circulating online, a police officer can be seen holding Thorpe’s red shirt. She then twists out of the shirt and walks away from the officer, who follows her.
The outspoken Indigenous senator is a relentless critic of the monarchy and Britain’s intrusion into the Australian continent.
She left the protest and could later be seen inside Parliament, waiting for the arrival of the monarchs.
In a statement, the AFP said no arrests had been made from the incident.
“This morning, police spoke to a protest group near the Australian War Memorial,” an AFP spokeswoman said.
“The group was directed to move on from the area and they complied with that direction.
“No arrests were made and police consider the matter finalised.”
Later, in the Great Hall, Thorpe also turned her back as the Australian anthem was played.
The Sydney Opera House shells are illuminated with a Royal projection to officially welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Photo / Getty Images
In a statement released on Monday, Thorpe said the British Crown and King Charles should be prosecuted for “genocide”.
She also said a treaty with Indigenous Australians “must be central” in any move toward a republic.
She said First Nations Australians should play a key role in rewriting the Constitution, and a charter of rights should be established to enshrine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“There’s unfinished business that we need to resolve before this country can become a republic,” she said.
“This must happen through treaty. We can move towards a treaty Republic now. The two processes are not opposed, they’re complimentary.”
“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.”
