Senator Lidia Thorpe has taken fire at the prime minister and the referendum during press conference to address her being the target of a neo-nazi video.
Standing out the front of the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on Thursday afternoon, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman said the building was “where it all began”.
“In 1901, the racist constitution came out of this building,” she said.
“It has caused nothing but pain and misery for my people in this country.”
Thorpe then described the referendum as an “act of genocide”
She said the “violent force” that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has directed to protect her, referring to the Victorian police, “can’t even protect me, refuse to protect a Blak sovereign woman”.
“The police are part of the problem in this country. And I can't ring triple 0,” she said.
“I can't rely on Victoria Police after they kill my people. So where is my support?
“Where is my protection in this country?"
Ms Thorpe said she had been painted as an angry, Blak woman, so she will be one.
“I am not hiding this time. I've been in exile for four months,” she said.
“Four months, I wasn't allowed to be in my own home. Because people want to kill me out there.
Ms Thorpe said the “exile” was an act to have her silenced.
“They want to feel good about the referendum, the referendum to assimilate our people into their constitution,” she said.
Ms Thorpe ended by saying she isn’t going to hide for the next 9 days until the referendum.
“You're gonna hear from me and you are gonna see me,” she said
“I’m not scared. I'm ready to fight for exactly what I went into Parliament for and that is my Country, my people.
“I won't stop and I'm not scared, so come at me.”
AFP investigating the video
The Australian Federal Police are investigating the video sent to Senator Thorpe by a neo-Nazi.
In the video, a man in a balaclava claiming to be from a neo-Nazi Warriors for Convict Resistance reads a statement from his phone endorsing "white Australia".
He then makes racist statements about First Nations people before burning the Aboriginal flag and performing a Nazi salute.
"The AFP takes seriously the protection of High Office Holders and Parliamentarians and significantly invests in their safety," the AFP spokesperson said.
They said the AFP became aware of the video on October 3, after it was posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"The AFP immediately engaged with X to have the video removed," they said.
"The account that posted the video has also been deactivated.
"The AFP is investigating the matter and no further comment will be made at this stage."
PM not engaging 'in debate like that'
The Prime Minister condemned the video saying that "the sort of Nazi rhetoric and statements that are in that video have no place in discourse in Australian political life".
In response to Ms Thorpe's comments, he said he isn't "going to engage in debate like that".
"I haven't seen obviously, I've been at Wynnum before I was here, so I didn't see," he said.
"I don't know what it was in an interview or something by Senator Thorpe. I just say that it's appropriate that people be respectful in this debate.
"I will continue to conduct myself respectfully. I will continue to campaign for a yes vote in this referendum as I've been doing, talking with voters this morning."
'Cowardly and disgusting'
Other federal government frontbenchers have also condemned the video.
"It's cowardly and disgusting," frontbencher Bill Shorten told Nine's Today program on Thursday.
"I don't know what it is with these man-baby Nazis - wearing a hood so no one can see you. They think they're so tough."
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil is supporting Ms Thorpe.
"That video is menacing, disgusting, and it is obviously deliberately targeting her to stop her from expressing her views," she told Nine.
"We will do everything we can to support Senator Thorpe."
Ms O'Neil said there's growing concern about extremists spreading racism and misinformation in the lead-up to the referendum.
"I am really worried about it," Ms O'Neil said.
"We're seeing over time in Australia different types of groups who pop up, selecting different ideologies ... being radicalised and joining these communities online, working together and getting more violent in their radical activities."
Australia's security agencies are "very, very, very good at what they do," Ms O'Neil said.
"They watch these groups very closely and it is a big focus of our government to make sure we stay on top of these problems."
This is not the first time the Blak Sovereign movement leader has been threatened by neo-Nazis.
A similar video in February 2022 used a racial slur against the independent senator and showed the Indigenous flag being burned.
- with AAP
