An Indigenous senator confronted King Charles III during his visit to Australia’s parliament, declaring that the land was not his, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated that the monarch was no longer needed as the nation’s head of state.
On Monday, Indigenous independent Senator Lidia Thorpe was escorted from a parliamentary reception for King Charles and Queen Camilla after shouting accusations against British colonizers for seizing Indigenous land and desecrating the remains of their ancestors.
“You committed genocide against our people,” Thorpe shouted. “Give us back what you stole — our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. We want a treaty.”
As security officials intervened to stop Senator Thorpe from approaching, King Charles quietly conferred with Prime Minister Albanese. Thorpe continued shouting as she was removed, saying, “This is not your land. You are not my king.”
Albanese, a supporter of Australia becoming a republic with an Australian head of state, expressed his view to the monarch that it was time for the British crown’s role in the country to end.
“You have shown great respect for Australians, even during times when we’ve debated the future of our constitutional arrangements and our relationship with the Crown,” Albanese remarked. “But nothing stands still.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who supports retaining the British monarch, pointed out that even Republicans were present to honor the royal couple at Parliament House in Canberra.
“People have had haircuts, shoes shined, and suits pressed, and that’s just the Republicans,” Dutton joked.
The incident highlighted the ongoing debate over Australia’s constitutional ties to Britain. Several Indigenous leaders have called for King Charles to apologize for the British Empire’s “legacy of genocide,” while a referendum on Australia becoming a republic remains a topic of national discussion.
Adding to the political divide, the leaders of all six Australian states declined invitations to the reception, citing other commitments. Each state leader has expressed a preference for an Australian to serve as head of state, a snub acknowledged by monarchists.
In his speech, King Charles began by thanking Auntie Violet Sheridan, an Indigenous elder, for her traditional Welcome to Country. He paid tribute to the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of the land where the event took place, and to all First Nations peoples of Australia.
“Let me say how deeply I appreciated this morning’s moving Welcome to Country ceremony,” Charles said. “It offers me the opportunity to pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, and all First Nations peoples who have cared for this continent for 65,000 years.”
He added, “Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations peoples have done me the great honor of sharing their stories and cultures. My own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.”
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