Australian senator Lidia Thorpe calls Queen Elizabeth a ‘coloniser’ while taking oath in parliament

An indigenous Australian senator described Queen Elizabeth, who is Australia’s head of state, as “colonising” while taking the oath in parliament.

Lidia Thorpe, a Greens senator for Victoria, walked to the centre of the floor with her fist raised in a Black power salute.

“I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be faithful and I bear true allegiance to the colonising her majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Ms Thorpe said.

Ms Thorpe was asked to repeat the oath without the word “colonising.”

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