Defiant Thorpe sneaks into Senate after suspension

Source: AAP
Suspended senator Lidia Thorpe snuck into the Senate a day after her ban and yelled down at colleagues in defiant scenes.
Thorpe showed that she was not going to back down when she entered the Senate press gallery overlooking the chamber early on Thursday.
The outspoken Senator reportedly raised her fist and yelled âFree, free Palestineâ before exiting.
Laborâs Senate leader Penny Wong reportedly prompted security to âshut the doors of the chamberâ as the Thorpe yelled outside.
Later, Thorpe was photographed outside the main entrance with her first in the air in protest.
She also attended a genocide protest on Federal Parliamentâs lawn and took aim at colonialism and attacked the King.
âWe want our land back, we want our babies back, and we do want the King to just fâk offâ,â Thorpe said.
The Senate voted to suspend the Victorian senator on Wednesday night after she threw pieces of paper at her One Nation colleague Pauline Hanson and called her a âconvicted racistâ.
In just the past two weeks, the Senate has voted to censure and suspend the Victorian politician, while an upper chamber colleague has reportedly sought legal action over a comment she made. But Thorpe remains unbothered.
âIâve been suspended, Iâve been censured and I wear those disciplinary colonial actions like a badge of honour,â she said.
âTo see my mob coming from every part of this country, telling the truth about whatâs going on in their communities ⌠they are my party room.â
Source: Today show
Thorpe was not officially allowed in the chamber or to vote on any legislation on what was meant to be the final sitting day of the year.
She was suspended on Wednesday night after she threw pieces of paper at One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. The government, Coalition, senators Hanson, David Pocock and Ralph Babet all voted to oust her â with only the Greens standing against the motion.
âThe Senate had to push back,â manager of government business in the Senate Katy Gallagher said.
âIf people saw what happened yesterday, they would not tolerate it in their workplace.â
But Thorpe insisted it was no coincidence she had been suspended on the day her bill was scheduled for debate.
The push would strip the attorney-general of his power to block the prosecution of genocide and other atrocities in Australian courts, but Thorpe will be unable to speak to it.
âThis was always a debate [Labor] didnât want to have,â she said.
âWhether youâre a Palestinian Australian who has seen your family murdered in Gaza, or a black mother wanting to hold this government to account for the ongoing removal of First Nations children, my bill would give people in this country a better chance for justice.
âNow the Senate has suspended me to shut down this debate, but we will not be silent.â
The suspension ended up working against Labor when its first attempt to guillotine bills in the Senate fell short by one vote.
âThey certainly got wedged,â Thorpe said.
âWhile Iâm out enjoying the sunshine and good company, theyâre losing out on passing legislation.â

Senator Lidia Thorpe joins Aboriginal elders to protest outside Parliament. Photo: AAP
She later spoke to grassroots organisers in front of Parliament House calling for the billâs passage.
âAustralia has been avoiding its obligation to prevent and punish Genocide, and has failed to implement the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, despite being a signatory,â Thorpe said.
âSupporting this bill means standing on the side of human rights, the rule of law, and everyday people.
âOpposing it is about maintaining undue political influence over our courts, and providing cover for war criminals.â
Elsewhere, Thorpe could also face a defamation case from Hanson after she called the One Nation leader a âconvicted racistâ during a television interview on Nineâs Today show.
Thorpe was referring to a November ruling, where a judge found Hansonâs 2022 tweet telling Greens deputy Mehreen Faruqi to âpiss off back to Pakistanâ was a strong form of racism.
Though this was a legal finding, it arose from a civil case â rather than a criminal one. Lawyers for Hanson said Thorpeâs comments were âpatently falseâ and called on Nine to withdraw the allegation and apologise.
But Thorpe has backed her comments.
âHanson can do what she likes with her platform but I will never stand silent while thereâs people being racially vilified,â she said in Canberra.
-with AAP
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