Lidia Thorpe was criticized for displaying “slogans” in Parliament
Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe was instructed to cover up her “inappropriate” T-shirt during a heated debate over indigenous rights in Parliament.
The exchange took place on Monday when the upper house was voting on the creation of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a federal advisory body made up of representatives of aboriginal communities.
Thorpe delivered an impassioned speech, saying that the proposal was tantamount to “appeasing the white guilt” and arguing that indigenous people should have seats in Parliament instead. She wore a gray T-shirt with the slang word ‘gammin’ emblazoned in large white letters.
Senate President Sue Lines said the attire was unacceptable. “I invite you to go and put a jacket over your T-shirt. Slogans are not allowed in the chamber,” Lines told Thorpe. She later repeated the order because “any slogans that can be read by me are inappropriate.”
“The constitution is an illegal document.”
Senator Lidia Thorpe was asked to cover up a slogan on her shirt in the Senate, as she opposed the Indigenous Voice proposal before the bill was passed this morning.
MORE: https://t.co/VNeMIQrek2#9News pic.twitter.com/GLwK6HP503
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) June 19, 2023
Thorpe complied, putting on a black jacket. “Gammin, as we know, is fake, pretend, a joke,’’ she said from the Senate floor.
The Indigenous Voice bill was ultimately passed by the chamber. The proposal will be put for a referendum sometime later this year.
READ MORE: Almost half of British Commonwealth wants to ditch monarchy – poll
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged voters to support the measure, saying it would bring about “a stronger, fairer, more reconciled and more united Australia.”
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com