LIDIA THORPE ...What have we got Here ? Everybody is racist apparently

In all the commentary and public background history available , Thorpe has never lived in a remote Aboriginal community nor has she spent any significant time with remote Aboriginal communities all the public records state may be 1 day on fleeting trips . Her domain is in urban Melbourne. Below are the publicly recorded facts on her infamous public rants. Thorpe's Father Roy Illingworth (English and Irish descent, Australian-born). Thorpe has publicly prioritised her Aboriginal identity while acknowledging mixed heritage; her father has criticised her for downplaying non-Aboriginal roots. It sounds like to me that Thorpe is totally one sided in reality she is a mixed culture one side aboriginal heritage the other English/Irish , is she angry at her father ? you might ask ? Getting it in balance is the key , and no matter what we say today WE CAN NEVER CHANGE HISTORY or has Thorpe not figured that out yet ? obviously not

Graham Healy Mon 3/8/26

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b6ee63_9940243be21f4b098b809210b0955a1b/360p/mp4/file.mp4

**Lidia Alma Thorpe (born 18 August 1973 in Carlton, Victoria) is an independent Australian senator for Victoria (since 2020; previously Greens until 2023). She was the first Aboriginal senator from Victoria. She is a mother and grandmother, grew up in Melbourne public housing (Collingwood, Fitzroy, Clifton Hill, Northcote areas), left school at 14, later obtained a Diploma of Community Development (Swinburne) and other qualifications, and has a background in community activism, housing, and Indigenous advocacy.**

### Aboriginal identity and roots

Thorpe identifies as a **proud Gunnai (also Kurnai/Gunnai-Kurnai), Gunditjmara, and Djab Wurrung woman**. This is the consistent self-description on her site, in parliamentary and media contexts, and in family activist histories.

- **Maternal line (Aboriginal heritage)**: Mother Marjorie Thorpe (Gunnai/Gunditjmara activist; co-commissioner on the Stolen Generations inquiry that produced the *Bringing Them Home* report; involved with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation). Grandmother Alma Thorpe (Gunditjmara activist; co-founder of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in 1973; linked to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy). Great-grandmother Edna Brown (Gunditjmara/Framlingham-linked; forcibly moved from the Framlingham Aboriginal Reserve as a teenager in the 1930s under assimilation policies; community organiser who helped establish an Aboriginal funeral fund). Maternal grandfather side includes Alister Thorpe (Gunnai). Family history involves Fitzroy/Collingwood Aboriginal activism, resistance to missions/reserves, and community-controlled services.

- **Paternal line**: Father Roy Illingworth (English and Irish descent, Australian-born). Thorpe has publicly prioritised her Aboriginal identity while acknowledging mixed heritage; her father has criticised her for downplaying non-Aboriginal roots.

Standard accounts (Wikipedia, her own statements, family profiles) treat the Gunnai/Gunditjmara/Djab Wurrung descent via the maternal activist line as established. Some commentators (e.g., opinion pieces questioning quantum of ancestry) note mixed European ancestry on both sides and debate identity thresholds, but mainstream biographical sources accept her identification and family history as presented. She frames her politics around sovereignty, treaty, truth-telling, and opposition to what she calls the ongoing “colonial project.”

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### Notable antics, statements, and events (especially parliamentary)

Thorpe is known for confrontational, high-profile protests and rhetoric focused on Indigenous sovereignty, anti-monarchy views, and solidarity with other causes (e.g., Palestine). She has been censured, suspended, investigated, and forced to retract/redo oaths. Below is a concise chronological table of prominent incidents drawn from contemporaneous reporting and parliamentary records. Many involve hyperbolic or inflammatory language that she has later described as metaphorical, symbolic, or “truth-telling.”

| Date | Event / Statement | Details / Outcome |

|------|-------------------|-------------------|

| Dec 2021 | “At least I keep my legs shut” interjection | During Senate debate on disability/NDIS issues directed at Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes.

Hughes interpreted it as a dig at her autistic son; Thorpe retracted, apologised unreservedly, and denied targeting Hughes’ family (claimed she saw something that disturbed her). |

| Dec 2021 | Tweet on Old Parliament House fire | After protesters set fire near the doors of Old Parliament House: “Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone” (with video). Tweet quickly deleted; widely criticised as appearing to celebrate damage to a national building. |

| Jun 2022 | “No permission” / “infiltrate the colonial project” | Stated Parliament and the Australian flag have “no permission to be here”; she is in Parliament only to “infiltrate” the “colonial project.” Criticised by other Indigenous politicians as divisive. |

| Aug 2022 | Altered oath of allegiance | Raised fist (Black Power salute); inserted “the colonising” before “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” and referred to herself as “sovereign.” Forced by Senate President to repeat the oath correctly. Later claimed (2024) she said “hairs” not “heirs.” Posted “Sovereignty never ceded.” |

| 2022–2023 | Relationship with former Rebels OMCG member Dean Martin | Failed to declare while on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement (which dealt with related matters). Self-referred to privileges committee; resigned as Greens deputy leader in Senate. Investigation found she should have disclosed; she later walked back aspects of her account. |

| Oct 2024 | Heckling of King Charles III at Parliament House reception | Shouted: “This is not your land, you are not my King”; “You committed genocide against our people”; “Give us what you stole... our bones, our skulls, our babies... Give us a treaty”; “You are a genocidalist”; “Fuck the colony.” Escorted out. Senate later censured her for disruptive/disrespectful conduct. She said ancestors “spoke through” her and she would do it again. |

| Nov 2024 | Paper-throwing / middle finger at Pauline Hanson; suspension | Ripped up paper related to Hanson’s motion and threw pieces toward her; walked out giving the middle finger. Also used “native police” slur toward other First Nations senators. Named and suspended from the Senate for a day under rarely used rules for inappropriate/abusive behaviour. |

| Oct 2025 | “Burn down Parliament House” remark | At Melbourne pro-Palestine rally: “...if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point… I am not there to make friends.” Compared Indigenous and Palestinian struggles; ended with “free Palestine from the river to the sea.” AFP investigated (national security team); later found insufficient evidence of a criminal offence and closed the matter. Thorpe insisted it was a “metaphor” / “figure of speech” for pain and the need for renewal (fire as spiritual cleansing for First Peoples), not literal arson; refused to apologise and called criticism “mock outrage.” Senate considered censure. |

**Other noted incidents** include blocking a police float at Sydney Mardi Gras (2023), nightclub altercations (e.g., telling men they had “small penis” / “stolen land”), wearing provocative clothing/headbands in Parliament, and ongoing rhetoric framing Australia as an illegitimate colony requiring treaty/sovereignty first. She left the Greens in 2023 to sit as an independent focused on the “Blak Sovereign Movement.”

These events are documented across mainstream Australian and international reporting, parliamentary records, and her own statements. Sources span progressive outlets, conservative commentary, and official records; interpretations differ sharply (activist truth-telling vs. disruptive extremism). For primary sources, see her official site, Hansard, Wikipedia compilation of contemporaneous reports, and AFP statements on the 2025 investigation. _________________________________________________________________________ **Dean Martin (the former Rebels OMCG member linked to Lidia Thorpe) has no criminal convictions.**

### Key details from public reporting

- Multiple Australian media outlets (including ABC, *The Guardian*, *The Age*/*Sydney Morning Herald*, and *Herald Sun*) have stated that he **has no criminal convictions**.

- He was a senior figure in the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang for many years, including serving as Victorian chapter president (and reportedly holding national office-bearer roles). He stepped down from the Victorian presidency in 2018 after his brother Shane Martin (father of AFL player Dustin Martin) was deported to New Zealand over Rebels links and Shane’s own criminal history.

- In 2013 he faced court over liquor licence breach charges related to a Rebels clubhouse in Sunshine (Victoria). He pleaded guilty, received a fine, but was **not convicted**.

- In July 2024 he was arrested and held in immigration detention after his visa was cancelled on character grounds (linked to his long association with the Rebels and organised crime police interest). He was later released after providing evidence of Aboriginal heritage (recognised as a member of the Manegin Aboriginal community in Tasmania). Under High Court rulings (Love/Thoms), non-citizen Aboriginal Australians cannot be deported as “aliens.” He was placed on a special purpose visa and allowed to remain in Australia.

He has been described as a person of interest to organised crime investigators due to his long involvement with the Rebels, but no convictions are recorded against him in the available reporting. _______________________________________________________________ **Yes — this refers to comments Lidia Thorpe made in late July 2026 during Senate racism inquiry hearings held in Queensland (Cairns area).**

### What she said

In a video update posted after a day of hearings in Cairns (around 29 July 2026), Thorpe stated:

> “I've heard a lot of witnesses talking about how racist Queensland actually is. Ha. What do you know?

> The cops are racist.

> The hospitals are racist.

> The education system's racist.

> We have mountains and mountains of evidence.

> The government needs to do something to stop the violent racism in this country…

> We gotta get rid of the racists, get rid of the rednecks and get on with maturing as a nation.”

She framed the remarks as reflecting testimony from Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, health groups, and other witnesses appearing before the inquiry into racism and violence directed at First Nations people. The hearings that week also covered related issues such as youth incarceration, funding shortfalls, and discrimination against First Nations LGBTQIA+ people (including Sistergirls and Brotherboys) in Queensland.

### Context

- These comments came during the parliamentary inquiry’s Queensland leg (Cairns and later Torres Strait).

- Thorpe has repeatedly used similar broad language about systemic racism in institutions and regions throughout her time in the Senate.

- No exact phrasing of “everybody is a racist in Queensland” appears in the available reporting, but her summary that “Queensland actually is” racist, with police, hospitals, and the education system specifically called out, is the closest and most recent match to the description.

This is consistent with her long-standing rhetorical style of describing Australian institutions and large parts of the population in sweeping terms related to racism and colonialism. ___________________________________________ **Racist** (adjective or noun) refers to a person, action, belief, policy, or system that involves **prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group**, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.

### Core dictionary definitions

- **Oxford English Dictionary / Cambridge**: Showing or feeling discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or believing that a particular race is superior to another.

- **Merriam-Webster**: Having, showing, or based on racial prejudice; of, relating to, or characterized by racism.

### Key elements of the standard meaning

1. **Racial prejudice** — Negative attitudes or stereotypes based on race/ethnicity.

2. **Discrimination** — Treating people unfairly or differently because of race.

3. **Belief in racial hierarchy** — The idea that some races are inherently superior or inferior to others.

4. **Antagonism or hostility** directed at people because of their race.

### Broader/modern academic or political usages

Some contemporary definitions (especially in critical race theory or certain activist circles) expand the term to include:

- Systemic or institutional patterns that produce unequal racial outcomes, even without individual prejudice.

- Any action, statement, or policy that is seen as upholding “white supremacy” or colonial structures.

- Power + prejudice (the idea that only members of a dominant group can be “racist”).

These expanded definitions are contested. Critics argue they dilute the original meaning, turn the word into a political weapon, or make nearly any disagreement about race automatically “racist.”

### Simple, precise version

A racist is someone who judges, disadvantages, or harbours hostility toward others primarily because of their race or ethnicity, or who supports ideas that one race is superior to others.

Would you like the definition in a specific context (e.g., legal, academic, everyday usage)? ______________________________________________