In a powerful act of defiance, Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe disrupted King Charles III’s speech to the Australian parliament, calling attention to the ongoing injustices faced by Indigenous Australians. Her protest has reignited the crucial debate around the need for a treaty between the Australian government and First Nations peoples.
A Nation Without a Treaty
Australia remains a nation that has yet to establish a formal agreement with the Indigenous peoples who were dispossessed by its colonization and invasion. Despite the historic apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008, the country has failed to take meaningful steps towards reconciliation and addressing the systemic inequalities that continue to impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The Substance of Thorpe’s Protest
While much of the media coverage has focused on the manner of Senator Thorpe’s protest, it is the substance of her message that will be remembered by history. Her challenge to the King regarding Indigenous dispossession and the lack of a treaty has gone unanswered, underscoring the urgent need for Australia to confront its colonial past and present.
The treaty issue will not go away until our nation grows up and addresses it.
– Bob Brown, former Greens leader
Resistance to a Treaty
One of the primary reasons Australia has failed to negotiate a treaty with Indigenous peoples is the influence of multinational resource extraction companies over the major political parties. These corporations fear that a treaty would grant First Nations communities the power to veto mining and drilling projects on their ancestral lands, threatening their profits and control over the nation’s natural resources.
Indigenous Deaths in Custody
Senator Thorpe’s protest also highlighted the shocking reality of Indigenous deaths in custody, with at least 576 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people dying in police or prison custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991. Despite these tragic statistics, no one has been held accountable for these deaths, further underlining the systemic racism and injustice faced by Indigenous Australians.
Defending Country and Culture
The same day as Senator Thorpe’s protest, 82-year-old Tasmanian Aboriginal elder Jim Everett-puralia meenamatta was arrested for protesting against the destruction of his ancestral forests by a logging corporation. Uncle Jim’s stand highlights the ongoing struggle of Indigenous peoples to protect their country and culture in the face of corporate greed and government inaction.
Where respect for country ruled for millennia, money mania is now in full control.
– Bob Brown
The Need for a Binding Agreement
Both Senator Thorpe and Uncle Jim are calling for a binding agreement between Indigenous peoples and the Australian government that recognizes their citizenship, cultural obligations, and right to care for country. This treaty must be negotiated in good faith, with the full participation and consent of First Nations communities, and enshrine their inherent rights and sovereignty.
A Turning Point in Australia’s History
Senator Lidia Thorpe’s powerful protest during King Charles III’s speech has brought the issue of Indigenous rights and the need for a treaty back into the national spotlight. Her courageous act of resistance has sparked a crucial conversation about Australia’s unresolved colonial legacy and the urgent necessity of working towards genuine reconciliation and justice for First Nations peoples.
As the nation grapples with the implications of Senator Thorpe’s protest and the ongoing struggle of Indigenous communities to protect their lands and culture, it is clear that Australia stands at a critical juncture in its history. The path forward requires a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths, negotiate in good faith, and take concrete steps towards establishing a treaty that recognizes and upholds the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Only by acknowledging the injustices of the past and present, and working together to build a more just and equitable future, can Australia hope to heal the wounds of colonization and forge a new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians based on respect, understanding, and shared responsibility for the land and its peoples.
