An Indigenous Australian lawmaker was instructed to resume her oath of office on Monday after she changed it to label the British queen a coloniser.
Green Senator Lidia Thorpe told the upper house of parliament, with her right fist raised above her head, that she “would be faithful to the colonizer Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.
The 96-year-old monarch is also Australia’s head of state.
Senate President Sue Lines told Thorpe, a wife of DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara, that she was required to recite the affirmation — a form of parliamentary oath that omits a reference to God — as written.
After a pause, Thorpe — a senator since September 2020 who held her seat in a federal election in May — recited the statement correctly.
Buckingham Palace spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thorpe’s remark.
australian indigenous people
Australia’s indigenous leaders have worked for generations to gain recognition for the injustices suffered by their people since the beginning of European settlement in the 1700s.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is looking to make changes to the constitution to recognize indigenous minorities and require governments to consult with Aboriginal people on decisions that affect their lives.
On Saturday, he revealed the wording of a draft referendum questions as part of that plan.
Source: CNN Brasil
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