King Charles Heckled During Australian Parliament Speech By Indigenous Senator: ‘This Is Not Your Land’

King Charles, who visited Australia’s parliament with Queen Camilla, was heckled by an Indigenous senator after delivering a speech in Canberra. 

Aboriginal Australian politician Lidia Thorpe was escorted out of a reception for the royal couple after repeatedly shouting at Charles. 

“You committed genocide against our people,” Thorpe shouted. “Give us what you stole from us, our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty.”

As Thorpe was then ushered out of the Great Hall of Parliament House, she could be heard saying, “This is not your land, this is not your land. You are not my King; you are not our King.”

Thorpe, who became a senator in 2022, is known for her extreme protest action. 

During his speech, the King acknowledged Indigenous communities, saying, “Let me also say how deeply I appreciated this morning’s moving ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony, which offers me the opportunity to pay my respects to the traditional owners of the lands on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people and all First Nations peoples who have loved and cared for this continent for sixty-five thousand years.”

The protest comes as people have focused their attention on Australia’s reaction to seeing the country’s Head of the Commonwealth—a position the King inherited after the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 2022. 

Australia is the only Commonwealth country without a treaty with its indigenous people. 

Outside Parliament House, Thorpe told reporters, “We’ll continue to resist the colony until we have a peacemaking treaty where we can celebrate this country together. We don’t need a king from another country to dictate to us what we do here.”

Australia was under British colonial rule for over a century. Some estimates presume that over 400 massacres were carried out against Australia’s Aboriginal people, killing thousands. 

The country’s Aboriginal population continues to struggle with discrimination today. 

Charles was diagnosed with cancer in April, and the Australian trip is his first formal state visit since receiving treatment.

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