Lidia Thorpe defiant as calls grow for her to resign

REBEL STORE AUSTRALIA

Get Rebel News Australia merchandise! All our products are printed in and fulfilled from Queensland.

SHOP NOW

• By Avi Yemini

Sign up for Rebel News Australia!

Get updates on Rebel News coverage in Australia delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss a story!

Sign Up

Embattled Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe says she has no intention of leaving politics, despite calls for her to resign over an undisclosed relationship.

Thorpe was dumped as Greens deputy leader in the Senate after it was revealed she had failed to declare she was dating a former bikie whilst sitting on a law enforcement committee.

Senators voted to refer the matter to the privileges committee.

Thorpe agreed she had made a mistake but rejected suggestions she should resign from politics.

She denied she had ever shared confidential information with her bikie boyfriend.

"All confidential information I received as part of the joint committee on law enforcement was treated in confidence,” she said.

"I strongly reject any suggestion that I would do anything other than comply with the requirements of the committee, and I note no-one has offered any evidence to the contrary.”

Thorpe, who called Queen Elizabeth II a “colonizer” and insisted “sovereignty never ceded” when she was sworn into parliament in August, insisted she would redouble her efforts “fighting for First Nations justice”.

"My ancestors, my families, my elders, my community and allyship out there is what maintains my strength,” she said.

One Nation lead Pauline Hanson issued a media release calling for a full explanation from Thorpe.

Media Release | Australians denied full explanation from Thorpe pic.twitter.com/hHLCHUaNpH

— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) October 25, 2022

Greens leader Adam Bandt told the ABC Thorpe had a lot to offer the parliament.

"Senator Thorpe has paid a price, she has stood down from the deputy leadership (of the Greens in) the Senate, she has admitted that she was wrong and has requested that it be looked into by the Senate," he said.

"On the question of her commitment to First Nations justice and the matters that are being pursued as part of her portfolio, that remains strong and has the Greens support."