KEY POINTS:
- Independent senator Lidia Thorpe delivered her first address to the National Press Club on Wednesday.
- On the Voice to Parliament referendum, she said a No vote would prove Australia is racist, as would a Yes vote.
- She also outlined her five-step alternative to the Voice.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has outlined her five-step alternative to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, declaring "your metal bars, concrete, and police" stand in the way of progress.
Thorpe, a Gunnai Gunditjmara Djab Wurrung woman, has advocated for a No vote in the upcoming referendum, arguing a constitutionally-enshrined Voice would be "useless" in addressing the challenges faced by Indigenous people.
Those challenges included mass incarceration, the separation of Indigenous children from their parents, the destruction of cultural sites, and a colonial system which oppressed and exploited them "just so a handful of people can profit", she said.
Thorpe said a victorious No vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum would prove Australia is racist, despite advocating for that position. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
During an appearance lasting over an hour, Thorpe discussed the "disgusting privilege" of her parliamentary platform, how a victory for the No campaign would prove Australia is racist, and the political future of the Blak Sovereign Movement (BSM).
Here are the key takeaways.
Thorpe’s five steps
Thorpe called for the referendum to be called off, but also suggested there was still time for Labor to convince her to back the Voice.
She claimed she had been "basically stonewalled" in negotiations so far.
Thorpe outlined five steps she believed were vital to achieving Indigenous self-determination:
- Truth-telling about Australia's history
- Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
- Implementation of recommendations from the Bringing Them Home Report
- Writing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Australian law
- Treaty
A Treaty would give Indigenous groups the ability to veto projects which destroyed culturally-significant areas, she said.
Thorpe said treaty negotiations should also include reparations.
"A lot of money [is] owed to First peoples. Look at the resources that have been extracted over 200 years ... It would make the country broke. That's why we need to negotiate," she said.
Both truth-telling and treaty processes are also explicitly called for in the Uluru Statement From the Heart.
Thorpe says a No vote would prove Australia is racist
Despite opposing the Voice herself, Thorpe said Australians sinking it would say something negative about the country.
“If it's No, well, we know that the country is racist,” she said.
Thorpe says Labor still has time to convince her to back the Voice. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
“[The Yes camp] is hand-on-heart do-gooders who think that they know best for us. That's a form of racism as well,” she said.
‘Progressive No' vs ‘Racist No' camps
Thorpe's decision to campaign against the Voice has been criticised by many progressives.
But she flatly rejected suggestions she had aligned with right-wing politicians like Pauline Hanson, insisting there were three groups in the race: the Yes camp, the "racist No" camp, and the "progressive No" camp.
“We get attacked by the Yes campaign for siding with the racists, for standing in the way of ‘progress’,” she said.
“Yet we are actually doing the opposite. We have done what everyone should do, and actually analysed the proposed Voice ... We are merely pointing out that there is no progress, that there is false hope, that we deserve better.”
Land Back vs Native Title
Thorpe was stinging in her criticism of Native Title, and called for an overhaul.
The landmark 1993 Mabo case paved the way for Native Title legislation, which grants Indigenous people certain rights over land to which they have a proven, continued connection.
The Blak Sovereign Movement has declared its opposition to the Voice, calling the proposed body "a weak proposition". Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
“Native Title forces us to ‘claim’ our own land and justify our existence and connection to the coloniser. The coloniser then decides if it is legitimate. It is an insult beyond words,” she said.
Her alternative?
“Land back”, including a full moratorium on the sale of Australian land by the Commonwealth.
“This land doesn’t belong to the Crown, come on. It never has, and should be handed back to the First Peoples whose land it is,” she said.
Being in parliament a 'disgusting privilege'
Thorpe has long acknowledged her unease at holding a powerful role in what she describes as an "illegitimate" colonial project.
That was on full display in August, when she described the late Queen Elizabeth II as a "coloniser" in her mandatory oath of allegiance, which she was then forced to retake.
On Wednesday, she accepted being a member of the Senate was an "honour and a privilege".
"But it's also a disgusting privilege that I find really difficult," she said.
"I'm here to infiltrate the colony. I'm here to rattle the cages of the people who have benefited from the rape and pillage of my people and my land. I'm here to make them uncomfortable."
Blak Sovereign Movement could run candidates
in February to sit as an independent, but immediately claimed to represent the BSM in Parliament.
While Thorpe has discussed not seeking another term in five years, she did allude to the movement expanding its political footprint.
"I've asked the Blak Sovereign Movement what they want to do, and they are very excited by the notion," she said.
"I just don't want to be the one having to organise them and doing all the campaigning. So if that's what they want to do, then absolutely."
