Lidia Thorpe says Australian parliament has no permission to be here and her plans to infiltrate it

Outspoken Greens senator Lidia Thorpe claims Australia’s Parliament has no permission to be here – and says she’s only a member so she can ‘infiltrate’ the institution.

The senator said her entry into the ‘colonial project’ was due to her aspirations to ‘renew the nation’ and be a voice and spokesperson for First Nations people.

Appearing on The Project on Tuesday, senator Thorpe said she also removes the Australian national flag during press conferences after Greens leader Adam Bandt was recently criticised for the same move.

‘The Australian flag does not represent me or my people,’ she told the panel.

‘It represents the colonisation of these lands, and it has no permission to be here, there’s been no consent, there’s been no treaty, so that flag does not represent me.’

Panellist Waleed Aly asked the senator if her argument could also apply to the Australian Parliament in which she serves.

‘Absolutely, I’m here to infiltrate,’ she replied emphatically.

Senator Thorpe (pictured on Tuesday night) said her decision to enter the ‘colonial project’ was due to her aspirations to ‘renew the nation’ and be a voice that questioned

‘I signed up to become a senator in the colonial project, and that wasn’t an easy decision for me personally, and it wasn’t an easy decision for my family either to support me in this,’ she continued.

‘However, we need voices like this to question the illegitimate occupation of the colonial system in this country.’

Aly has since been slammed by hard-left activists over what they called a ‘condescending and ignorant’ interview. 

The panelist asked Senator Thorpe if she had given up her First Nations sovereignty by pledging allegiance to the Queen when she entered Parliament.

The line of questioning enraged some viewers, who took to social media to brand him ‘offensive’ with others calling the interview a ‘train wreck’. 

‘We have never ceded our sovereignty as First Nations people in this nation ever, ever, ever,’ senator Thorpe said of her dismissal of the national flag. 

Aly challenged her on this point, asking whether she ceded her sovereignty when she pledged allegiance to the Queen.

Waleed Aly (pictured at the 62nd TV Week Logie Awards on June 19 on the Gold Coast) has come under fire online

Waleed Aly (pictured at the 62nd TV Week Logie Awards on June 19 on the Gold Coast) has come under fire online

‘But you’re ceding it right now by being a Senator aren’t you,’ he said.

‘You’re saying ”I submit to this, I become part of the system.” I understand that may not be your personal politics but that’s what that act means.’

Senator Thorpe is pictured in Parliament

Senator Thorpe is pictured in Parliament

Under section 42 of the constitution, a politician has to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch before taking their seat in Parliament.

Senator Thorpe said she had to take the oath in order to get into Parliament and advocate on behalf of her ‘people’.

‘I am here for my people, and I will sacrifice swearing allegiance to the coloniser to get into the media like I am right now, to get into the parliament like I am every day,’ she said.

‘To make this country put a mirror up to itself and ask, who are we? Where do we come from and where are we going?’ 

The tense moment sparked backlash online from left-wing activists.

Academic Chelsea Watego wrote: ‘The cheek of this settler telling an Aboriginal woman that she has ceded sovereignty.’

She added: ‘It’s pretty slack how The Project TV ran this. Why was there no interrogation of why Libs and Nats exclude Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags given their status and umm… whose land you’re all on.’

Professor Euan Ritchie, a scientist, said: ‘Lidia Thorpe absolutely schooling Waleed Aly and others attempting to defend colonialist privilege.’

Waleed Aly has been branded 'condescending and ignorant' over his interview with Greens senator Lidia Thorpe on The Project. Pictured: Some of the Twitter reaction

Waleed Aly has been branded ‘condescending and ignorant’ over his interview with Greens senator Lidia Thorpe on The Project. Pictured: Some of the Twitter reaction

And journalist Lavendar Baj described the interview as a ‘trainwreck’.

‘Criticise Lidia all you want… but this interview is an absolute trainwreck,’ she wrote.

‘Condescending, ignorant, and offensive behaviour from Aly.’

The Greens senator was later asked if she understood how her dismissal of the national flag could be upsetting to some Australians.

She replied that her entry into parliament would see every person in the country understand ‘whose land they were on’.

‘I don’t want people to get upset by what I have to say,’ she told the panel.

‘I want people to come on a learning journey, and a truth-telling journey so that we can unite this country and mature as a nation.’

Senator Thorpe said her choice to enter the 'colonial project' was due to her aspirations to 'renew the nation' (pictured, Parliament House in Canberra)

Senator Thorpe said her choice to enter the ‘colonial project’ was due to her aspirations to ‘renew the nation’ (pictured, Parliament House in Canberra)

Senator Thorpe said while she swears alliance to the ‘colonising Queen’ it was simply something she had to do to be in the senate for her people. 

‘I will sacrifice swearing allegiance to the coloniser to get into the media like I am right now, to get into the parliament like I am every day,’ she said.

‘To make this country put a mirror up to itself and ask, who are we? Where do we come from and where are we going?’

The senator’s comments have prompted calls for her to be dismissed from parliament and accusations she was behaving like a child in a ‘spy game’.

Incoming Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Price has called for senator Thorpe to be dismissed from parliament. 

‘I think she has nothing but contempt for the Australian people and she doesn’t respect the position she is in,’ Ms Price said. 

‘I personally feel that the Governor-General should take a closer look at what her real intentions are and consider whether this is possible grounds for dismissal.

Senator Thorpe (pictured with Greens leader Adam Bandt) said her entry into parliament would see every Australian in the country understand 'whose land they were on'

Senator Thorpe (pictured with Greens leader Adam Bandt) said her entry into parliament would see every Australian in the country understand ‘whose land they were on’

Incoming Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Price (pictured on May 30) has called for senator Thorpe to be dismissed from parliament

Incoming Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Price (pictured on May 30) has called for senator Thorpe to be dismissed from parliament

‘She doesn’t see herself as an Australian, she doesn’t see herself as being represented by the Australian flag.

‘Therefore she is not the right person to be in a position to represent the Australian people nor does it indicate she has Aus­tralia’s best interests at heart.’

Ms Price went on to describe the senator as ‘divisive’ and ‘childish’. 

‘I think she shouldn’t be completely honest about her experience that she is of mixed heritage, like myself as well, and that she’s simply only recognised that side of her,’ Ms Price told RN Breakfast. 

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine said he was ‘flabbergasted’ by her sentiments.

‘She is carrying on like she is in a five-year-old’s spy game,’ Mr Mundine told The Australian, adding that he ‘shook his head at these people’. 

Greens leader Adam Bandt was criticised earlier this week after he refused to stand alongside the Australian national flag at a press conference. 

A member of his staff was seen removing it before he addressed reporters. 

Greens leader Adam Bandt was criticised earlier this week after he refused to stand alongside the Australian national flag at a press conference (pictured, the national flag off to one side)

Greens leader Adam Bandt was criticised earlier this week after he refused to stand alongside the Australian national flag at a press conference (pictured, the national flag off to one side)

Mr Bandt (pictured with his wife Claudia Perkins) later told Daily Mail Australia that the flag represents colonisation and dispossession

Mr Bandt (pictured with his wife Claudia Perkins) later told Daily Mail Australia that the flag represents colonisation and dispossession

‘For many Australians, this flag represents dispossession and the lingering pains of colonisation,’ Bandt said on Monday. 

‘Through Treaty with First Nations’ Peoples and by moving to a Republic, we can have a flag that represents all of us.’

A review of the leader’s previous TV interviews shows he always has the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the background, but never the nation’s flag.

He later told Daily Mail Australia that the flag represents colonisation and dispossession. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Bandt to ‘reconsider his position and work to promote unity and work to promote reconciliation’. 

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