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Greens in damage control as ‘talking points’ for dealing with Lidia Thorpe’s alleged meltdown among Aboriginal elders have leaked to ABC station
- Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe reportedly unleashed furious diatribe in 2021 meeting
- She met with First Nations representatives, including an indigenous elder
- On Tuesday, an email from her ex-employee described her behavior as appalling
- Talking points have leaked out about how Greens MPs should deal with the controversy
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The Greens have moved to harm reduction after a former Lidia Thorpe staffer revealed details of a meeting in which the senator allegedly threw a tirade of verbal abuse at an Indigenous elder.
Ms Thorpe is said to have unleashed a furious rant at Victoria’s First People’s Assembly co-chairs Marcus Stewart and Aunt Geraldine Atkinson during a committee meeting in Parliament House on 22 June 2021.
It is alleged that Ms Atkinson, who is in her 70s, was so shocked by Senator Thorpe’s behavior that she sought help from the Parliamentary nurse after the meeting.
The fallout from the alleged tirade led the Greens to issue a series of “talking points” instructing the underage party’s MPs how to respond to questions about the alleged meltdown — just for them. leaked to ABC presenter Patricia Karvelas.
Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) reportedly unleashed a furious rant at two First Nations representatives during a 2021 Parliament building meeting in Canberra
Aunt Geraldine Atkinson (left) was at the meeting with Marcus Stewart, whose wife is Senator Jana Stewart (right)
Thorpe’s former chief of staff, David Mejia-Canales, was at the meeting and apologized in a private email published earlier this week for failing to end it earlier after Senator Thorpe’s “terrible” behavior.
“The behavior I witnessed at that meeting was by far one of the most unprofessional displays I have ever seen, not only in the span of my career, but in my lifetime,” Mr Mejia-Canales said in the e-mail. mail. The Sydney Morning Herald.
The leaked talking points instruct Greens MPs not to address the matter directly.
“It is inappropriate to discuss human resources in public, but we are confident that we have strong complaints handling procedures that have been strengthened since the Jenkins Review[to Parliament’s work culture],” the document read.
“Greens MPs have continued to work closely with the First People’s Assembly of Victoria to advance the Treaty process in the state.”
Atkinson and Stewart (pictured) are co-chairs of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria
Ms Atkinson says she made a formal complaint about the meeting to Greens leader Adam Bandt, describing Ms Thorpe’s behavior as “cruel,” but he never acknowledged it.
While the exact content of the Senator’s outburst has not been revealed, Ms Atkinson said in a separate letter to former Senate Speaker Scott Ryan that Senator Thorpe criticized the Bamblett family, of which Atkinson is a member, and suggested she was involved with Aboriginal people. organizations that tried to ‘bring her down’.
When I tried to intervene to respond, Senator Thorpe spoke over me in a very aggressive tone, repeatedly saying, ‘I am an Australian Senator. You’re in my meeting,’ said Mrs. Atkinson.
A spokesman for Senator Thorpe told the SMH that the meeting included a “robust discussion” about the treaty process, but did not go further.
Mr Bandt told the publication that he had discussed the situation with Senator Thorpe, but did not go further.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Senator Thorpe and Mr Bandt for comment.