Canberra: Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe made headlines on Monday by shouting anti-colonial slogans at King Charles during his visit to the Australian parliament. Her outburst surprised lawmakers and dignitaries present at the event.

"Give us our land back! Give us what you stole from us!" Thorpe screamed in an almost minute-long diatribe, after the 75-year-old king's speech. "This is not your land, you are not my king," the independent lawmaker said, decrying what she described as a "genocide" of Indigenous Australians by European settlers.

Australia was a British colony for over 100 years, leading to the deaths of thousands of Aboriginal Australians and the displacement of entire communities. Although the country gained de facto independence in 1901, it has not yet become a full republic, and King Charles remains the head of state.

King Charles is currently on a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa, marking his first significant foreign visit since his recent cancer diagnosis.

Thorpe is known for her bold political actions and strong opposition to the monarchy. When she was sworn into office in 2022, she raised her fist as she reluctantly pledged to serve Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Australia’s head of state.

"I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," she said before being rebuked by a Senate official.

"Senator Thorpe, Senator Thorpe, you are required to recite the oath as printed on the card," said the chamber's president Sue Lines.

In 1999, Australians narrowly voted against removing the queen, amid debate about whether a new head of state should be chosen by parliament or the public. More recently, in 2023, Australians overwhelmingly rejected proposals to recognize Indigenous Australians in the constitution and to establish an Indigenous consultative assembly.

Agency