An Indigenous senator was dragged out of a reception during a reception for King Charles III in Australia.
Senator Lidia Thorpe was escorted out of a parliamentary reception held at Parliament House for King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla after shouting at the British royal couple during a visit Australia's parliament on Monday.
"This is not your land. You are not my king," Thorpe yelled while being removed by authorities in Canberra, the Associated Press reported. "You committed genocide against our people. Give us what you stole from us — our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty."
King Charles realising why monarchs don’t go down under as he’s heckled at an event by a woman in a cape. pic.twitter.com/mlFObTCOVz
— Captain Benjamin 🐺 (@BenjaminDeRebel) October 21, 2024
Britain does not have a treaty with Australia's Indigenous natives.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who spoke with Charles after the outburst, wants Australia to become a republic with an Australian head of state.
"Nothing stands still," he remarked in his welcoming speech. "The Australia you first knew has grown and evolved in so many ways."
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says he wants Charles' position to remain as Australia's monarch.
In 1999, Australians voted in a referendum to keep Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The decision came after a national disagreement about choosing a president instead of continuing to support the monarchy.
Charles thanked Auntie Violet Sheridan, a Canberra Indigenous elder, for the Ngunnawal people's contribution to Australia.
"Let me also say how deeply I appreciated this morning's moving Welcome to Country ceremony, which offers me the opportunity to pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, and all First Nations peoples who have loved and cared for this continent for 65,000 years," Charles said.
Despite the Crown being continually drawn into Australian politics, Charles has made it clear that the decision rests with Australians, according to the Associated Press.
"Whether Australia becomes a republic is ... a matter for the Australian public to decide," Charles wrote in a letter to the Australian Republic Movement after they reached out to Buckingham Palace requesting help in Australia severing its constitutional ties with Britain.
We remember the service and sacrifice of all Australians who have died during war.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 21, 2024
As well as visiting the @AWMemorial, Their Majesties had a moment of reflection at the ‘For our Country’ Memorial to acknowledge the deep connection that First Nation Australians have with their… pic.twitter.com/aTvSaJxcdW
