The First Nations People have suffered centuries of abuse and discrimination and, sadly, this doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Lidia Thorpe, the first Aboriginal senator from Victoria made headlines last week with an impassioned protest against the royal visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla, telling them “this is not your country!”
Now a 28-year-old woman, Ebony Bell, is in court after having allegedly assaulting her. The attack is said to have taken place on May 25 at an Australian Rules Football match in Melbourne. The motives behind the attack are unclear, though the two women are said to be known to each other.
Bell has been charged with reckless injury and unlawful assault, with Thorpe explaining that the attack saw her sustain serious nerve and spinal injuries in my neck, which required spinal surgery and a plate to be inserted”.
This attack doesn’t appear to be connected to Thorpe’s political views, with Bell’s lawyer describing her as “Indigenous” and a “Koori woman.” Bell herself has received threats in the past few weeks and remains free on bail until her next court appearance on Nov. 22.
Meanwhile Thorpe’s protest continues to raise hackles. In the immediate aftermath, the Australian Prime Minister condemned the protest as inappropriate conduct for a parliamentarian and Peter Dutton, the right-wing leader of the opposition Liberal Party of Australia, has called for Thorpe to resign her position.
Thorpe’s oath of office she recited during her swearing-in as Senator has also been scrutinized. In this she swore allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and “her heirs.” Thorpe claimed she saw a loophole and swore allegiance to her “hairs.” As Queen Elizabeth’s hairs died along with the rest of her, that technically means she’s off the hook, right? Well, lawyers disagree and moves are afoot to disqualify Thorpe from her job on the grounds she didn’t swear a valid oath.
None of this is slowing Thorpe down. Standing firm against widespread outrage, she said:
“For those that don’t agree with what I have said and what I have done, I can tell you now there are elders, there are grassroots Aboriginal people across this country and Torres Strait Islander people who are just so proud. I have decided to be a Black sovereign woman and continue our fight against the colony and for justice for our people.”
She also said that despite the legal quibbling she’s not about to stand down from politics, saying that questioning her legitimacy is an “insult” and insisting:
“They can’t get rid of me, so I’ve got another three and a half years, I’m sorry for those who don’t like me, but I’m here to do a job.”
You can quibble over the way Thorpe went about her protest and whether it was a breach of royal decorum (whatevs, who cares?), but at this point nobody can deny that she succeeded in getting her message broadcast around the world and made the ongoing plight of First Nations People the talking point of Charles’ visit to Australia. All in all, a good day’s work for a politician.
