Lidia Thorpe will QUIT the Greens to become the leader of an Aboriginal sovereignty movement

Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has quit the Greens to become the leader of the black sovereignty movement, she revealed on Monday afternoon. 

Wearing Sovereignty Never Ceded earrings, Senator Thorpe confirmed her exit after a partyroom meeting on the first parliamentary sitting day

‘Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective, without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions,’ she said.

‘It has become clear to me that I can’t do that from within the Greens.’  

Greens leader Adam Bandt has indicated the party would support the Voice but Senator Thorpe has been a vocal critic of the proposal.

Last month she announced she would not support the Voice unless there was a guarantee that Indigenous sovereignty would not be ceded. 

On Australia Day, she addressed a rally clutching a war stick and demanded a government treaty with the Indigenous people before the Voice. 

‘Greens MPs, members and supporters have told me they want to support the Voice,’ she added. 

‘This is at odds with the community of activists who are saying Treaty before Voice. This is the message delivered on the streets on January 26.’

But she insisted: ‘I am not announcing my position on the Voice today.

 ‘I want to continue my negotiations with the government. First Nations sovereignty is crucial but so is saving lives today.’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, constitutional experts and the expert working group have said the Voice would have no impact on First Nations sovereignty.

Senator Thorpe replaced former Greens leader Richard Di Natale when he retired in 2020.

She has been the party’s Indigenous affairs spokesperson and was deputy leader of the Greens in the Senate last year.