A woman has been accused of assaulting outspoken Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe at the MCG in May this year.
The 27-year-old woman allegedly attacked the senator after the AFL Dreamtime match between Essendon and Richmond at the MCG on May 25, the Herald-Sun reported.
Victoria Police said in a statement that a 27-year-old woman, believed to be known to Senator Thorpe, has been charged with two counts of reckless wounding and three counts of unlawful assault.
“Detectives from the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit have charged a woman following an alleged assault in East Melbourne on May 25,” a police spokeswoman told NewsWire.
‘Investigators allege a woman assaulted another woman outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground following an AFL match at around 10.30pm.
“The incident was reported to Melbourne East Police Station on May 26.
‘The woman suffered minor injuries during the incident.
‘Police arrested a 27-year-old Preston woman in Preston on July 25.
Senator Lidia Thorpe claimed she was brutally attacked at the MCG earlier this year, causing serious back injuries. Victoria Police said a 27-year-old woman has been charged with assault
“The woman was charged with two counts of reckless wounding and three counts of unlawful assault.”
The woman has been released on bail and will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on October 28.
Senator Thorpe subsequently revealed details of the alleged attack on Friday The Australian asked why she had missed a third of the court days due to her absences.
“Earlier this year I was attacked at the MCG,” Ms Thorpe told the publication.
‘I suffered serious nerve and spinal injuries in my neck, which required spinal surgery and a plate placed in my neck.
‘I have a scar on the front of my neck because of this. I was ordered by the doctor not to travel and could not attend parliament. My doctor told me to take time off work. A police investigation is currently underway.
“It’s a shame that I’ve been forced to reveal this to defend myself when I would have preferred to keep this private, but that’s just another day in the colony for you.”
Her absenteeism from parliament was even worse last year, when she attended only 38 of the 66 sitting days.
She explained that this was because the Australian Federal Police advised her to stay home due to “serious far-right threats.”
“Delays in the security assessment and plan by Parliament and the AFP meant that I could not travel safely to Parliament for months,” the senator said.
Ms Thorpe made the admission after The Australian inquired about her absence and revealed she had attended just 45 per cent of parliamentary votes this year.
Ms Thorpe’s admission comes at a time when the Coalition is questioning her fitness to remain in parliament, following backlash over her tirade against King Charles and her admission that she swore an oath to the deceased’s ‘hair’ in 2022 queen instead of to her heirs.
“I find swearing allegiance to someone else from another country, whose ancestors have caused great harm to my ancestors, completely inappropriate,” she said.
“I have a seat in the Senate for the next three and a half years and I will use it to get justice for my people.”
Senator Thorpe also defended receiving a salary for serving in the Senate, saying ‘it’s paying the rent, if you will’.
“I get paid by the colony to raise the issues my people raise with me,” she said.
The federal opposition is investigating whether the senator is eligible to sit and participate in proceedings in the House of Lords under Article 42 of the Constitution.
“The coalition will explore options and consider legal advice on the implications of Senator Thorpe’s admission,” said the coalition’s leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham.
The leader of the federal government in the Senate, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, said Senator Thorpe’s admission about her oath was “unusual”.
“I have to say that we are all part of an institution which is parliament and our democracy, and within that we have very different views,” she told ABC television.
However, Senator Wong said Ms Thorpe needed to ‘think about the institution she is part of, and how she wants to play a role in that institution’.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher also said Ms Thorpe should consider her position.
“We have to figure out a way to ensure that the institution of the Senate … is upheld and respected, and I think that is sometimes challenged by some of the behavior of Senator Thorpe in particular,” she told ABC Radio.
“She also likes the attention that comes from these… public displays.
“We will work with people from across the room on what the appropriate response is.”