Karl Stefanovic has labeled Lidia Thorpe ‘the most hated woman in parliament’ after the senator shouted abuse at King Charles on Monday.
But instead of taking offense to that description, the controversial politician seemed to wear it as a badge of pride.
“It’s just another day in the colony, Karl,” Senator Thorpe said with a shrug on Channel Nine’s Today show on Thursday.
‘I’m used to that treatment. I’m the black sheep of the family, if you like. But I wanted to send a message to the king… I delivered that message.
“The whole world is talking about it and my people are happy because my people have been protesting for this for decades and decades, as you all know.”
Stefanovic then hit her with a question about her political future.
“The question you were asked this morning is: why on earth doesn’t Lidia Thorpe do everyone a favor and leave Canberra? Do you want?’ he said.
‘For me it’s about telling the truth. I’m loud, proud, black. Get used to it and listen to what I have to say,” replied Mrs. Thorpe.
Lidia Thorpe (pictured) has been called ‘the most hated woman in parliament’ by Karl Stefanovic after the senator shouted insults at King Charles on Monday
“We need to grow up as a nation, get rid of him and get our own head of state.”
The king had just finished his speech in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra when Ms Thorpe unleashed a barrage of abuse at the monarch.
“You committed genocide against our people, give us back our country!” she shouted, wearing a native fur coat.
Three days later the unrepentant Victorian said: ‘the message has been sent, delivered and now it is up to the King of England to respond’.
Senator Thorpe also rejected opposition leader Peter Dutton’s call to resign over her one-sided war of words with King Charles.
‘I am an independent. No one can kick me out of there. I am there to do my job,” she told Stefanovic.
‘There is still unfinished business. I will spend the next three years taking care of that unfinished business.”
National Senator Bridget McKenzie questioned whether Senator Thorpe’s actions violated the oath she swore to allegiance to the King.
Senator Thorpe said this point was not in dispute because she surreptitiously changed the wording of the oath when she recited the pledge.
When taking the oath, she had to say: ‘I … swear that I will be faithful and faithful to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors according to law.’
But she told me ABC that she instead swore allegiance to the queen’s ‘hair’.
“If you listen carefully, it wasn’t her ‘heirs’, but her ‘hair’ that I pledged my allegiance to and now that they’re gone, I don’t know why.”
Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham said he is seeking legal advice on the matter, on whether Senator Thorpe will have to take the oath of office again, which would be a humiliating climb for her, or be expelled as a senator if she refuses.
“Senator Thorpe appears to have admitted, confessed and stated very clearly yesterday that she did not take the oath of confirmation of her office as enshrined in the Constitution,” Senator Birmingham said.
“If that is the case, it is a serious matter and Professor Anne Twomey, one of the country’s leading experts on constitutional law, has said that this is, at the very least, a matter for the President of the Senate must assess and determine whether it has complied with those rules. constitutional obligations to take her seat in the Senate.”
Faced with the prospect of swearing allegiance to the king or being dismissed, Senator Thorpe changed her position, saying that her mispronunciation of “heirs” as “hairs” was unintentional.
Karl Stefanovic (photo) had a fiery debate with Senator Lidia Thorpe on Thursday
On Monday, Ms Thorpe shouted insults at King Charles III (pictured) at the Federal Parliament Building in Canberra
She told me Sky News Thursday, that she “spoke what I read on the card, which said ‘heirs.’
“Now forgive me… my English grammar is not as good as others, and I spoke what I read, so I made a mistake,” she said.
Constitutional law expert Ron Levy said the Supreme Court could rule that Ms. Thorpe was never qualified to serve in the Senate because she did not take the oath of office properly.
“She cannot be expelled from parliament for cursing and insulting the king,” he said. 9News.
“However, there may be a lawsuit that has a chance of success because of her failure to take an oath, because of her revelation that she did not actually take the oath of allegiance.
“There is a chance that the court will accept the allegation that she was not properly sworn in.”