Lidia Thorpe, an Australian independent politician, has served as a senator for Victoria since 2020, marking a historic milestone as the first Aboriginal senator from the state. Previously affiliated with the Australian Greens, she parted ways with the party in February 2023 due to disagreements surrounding the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Bio/Wiki
Age- 50 years
Height- 1.67 m
Weight- 59 kg
Full name-Lidia Alma Thorpe
Born- 18 August 1973
Birthplace-Carlton, Australia
Profession-Politician
Nationality- Australian
Previous offices-Deputy Leader of the Greens in the Senate of Australia (2022–2022), MORE
Office-Senator of Australia since 2020
Parents
Lidia Alma Thorpe, born in 1973 in Carlton, Victoria, is the daughter of Roy Illingworth and Marjorie Thorpe. Her heritage includes English, Irish, DjabWurrung, Gunnai, and Gunditjmara ancestry.
Relationship
From 2019 to 2022, Thorpe was romantically involved with Gavan McFadzean, who served as the manager of the Climate Change and Clean Energy Program at the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Children
Lidia is not married, but she has three daughters. Many people are curious about Lidia Thorpe’s daughters. Sources indicate that she became a single mother at the age of seventeen.
Education
Thorpe spent her childhood in Housing Commission flats in Collingwood and attended Gold Street Primary School in Clifton Hill. She attended Fitzroy High School for Year 7, Collingwood High for Year 8, briefly returned to Fitzroy High for Year 9, but left school at the age of 14 shortly after. She earned a Diploma of Community Development from Swinburne University of Technology, along with a graduate certificate in public sector management and a Certificate IV in Indigenous Leadership.
Career
Her initial employment was alongside her uncle Robbie Thorpe at the Koori Information Centre located at 120 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, a significant center for Black political engagement during that period. According to her, she has remained consistently employed since then, except for brief hiatuses during six-month breaks for maternity. Thorpe held positions such as the Aboriginal employment adviser for the Municipal Association of Victoria and served a three-year term as president of the Lakes Entrance Basketball Association. She actively contributed to Nowa Nowa Primary School’s school council, a steering committee for Indigenous administrators, and the Institute of Public Administration Australia (Victoria). Her professional roles also included being a project manager at East Gippsland Shire Council, Indigenous manager at Centrelink, and manager at Lake Tyers Aboriginal Training Centre.
Furthermore, Thorpe co-chaired the Victorian NAIDOC Committee from 2014 to 2017.
In the 2017 by-election held on 18 November, Lidia Thorpe secured the Northcote seat after receiving 45.22% of the primary vote, which increased to 50.93% following preference distributions. Notably, in May 2018, she orchestrated a historic gathering of Aboriginal Elders at the Parliament of Victoria, leading to the unanimous formation of an elders council to discuss the state’s treaty processes. While supporting the Victorian Government’s 2018 treaty bill, Thorpe emphasized her commitment to advocating for clan sovereignty recognition throughout the treaty process.
However, Thorpe lost her seat to Labor candidate Kat Theophanous in the 2018 Victorian state election, concluding her term on 19 December 2018. Subsequently, in June 2020, she was selected by Victorian Greens members to fill the federal Senate vacancy following former leader Richard Di Natale’s resignation. Her appointment was confirmed at a joint sitting of the Victorian Parliament on 4 September, and she was sworn in on 6 October 2020. This achievement marked her as the first Aboriginal woman to represent Victoria in the Senate and the inaugural Aboriginal federal parliamentarian from the Green party.
After her re-election in the May 2022 federal election, Lidia Thorpe was chosen as the Greens party’s deputy leader in the Senate. However, on 20 October 2022, Thorpe stepped down from this position following revelations by ABC News that she had dated Dean Martin, the former president of the Rebels outlaw bikie gang, in 2021. She voluntarily referred herself to the Senate privileges committee on 24 October.
In March 2023, a parliamentary investigation absolved Thorpe of contempt of parliament charges. Then, on 6 February 2023, Thorpe announced her resignation from the Greens, opting to become an independent senator on the crossbench due to disagreements regarding the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Later, on 14 June 2023, Thorpe and Amanda Stoker accused Senator David Van of sexually assaulting her during a parliamentary session. Van has denied the allegations and was subsequently expelled from the Liberal Party.
Controversy
During a Parliament speech in May 2021, Thorpe criticized the new bail laws in the Northern Territory and wrongly assumed that the Attorney-General of the Northern Territory was a white male. In fact, the attorney-general, Selena Uibo, was an Aboriginal woman. Uibo responded by stating that Thorpe was not qualified to speak on the Northern Territory’s matters. In December 2021, Thorpe faced criticism for her remarks during a Senate discussion about people living with disabilities, where she interjected to Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, saying, “at least I keep my legs shut.” Additionally, after a fire damaged the Old Parliament House in Canberra, she tweeted, “Seems like the colonial system is burning down,” which also drew criticism. In a June 2022 interview, Thorpe stated her intention to ‘infiltrate’ the Australian parliament and questioned the presence of the Australian flag, claiming it had “no permission to be here.” Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price condemned Thorpe’s comments and called for her dismissal from parliament.
Thorpe attracted attention during her swearing-in ceremony when she altered the Oath of Allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II. She included the words “the colonising” in the oath, stating, “I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the colonising Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia, Her heirs and successors according to law.” This modification led to criticism from fellow senators. After intervention from Labor Senate president Sue Lines and others, Thorpe repeated the oath, omitting the controversial words.
Further controversy arose on 16 April 2023, when footage emerged of Thorpe engaging in a verbal altercation with men outside a Melbourne strip club. Thorpe claimed the men provoked the incident, while the club manager alleged she had incited the confrontation by accusing white patrons of stealing her land.
Net Worth 2023
As of 2023, Lidia Thorpe’s net worth stands at $3 million.
Lidia Thorpe Latest News
Senator Lidia Thorpe: Allegations of Police Negligence Amidst Neo-Nazi Racist Abuse
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has accused the Australian Federal Police (AFP) of failing to safeguard her after she became the target of racist abuse from far-right extremists. A video surfaced where a masked Neo-Nazi burned an Aboriginal flag while performing a Nazi salute, with Senator Thorpe tagged in the video.
In Melbourne, she stood in front of the Royal Exhibition Building and condemned the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum as an “act of genocide against my people.”
Senator Thorpe asserted that both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the AFP have not taken adequate measures to protect her from the far-right threats. She criticized the police force, stating, “The violent force they’ve sent to protect me can’t even shield me, refusing to protect a Blak sovereign woman because the police are part of the problem in this country.”
“You want to paint me as an angry black woman, well you are about to see an angry black woman.
“Four months I wasn’t allowed to be in my own home, because people want to kill me out there.”
The AFP stated that it does not disclose specific protection details concerning Australian High Office Holders and Parliamentarians. Nevertheless, they emphasized their serious commitment to the safety of these officials and have made significant investments in ensuring their protection.
The AFP confirmed its awareness of a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) referencing Senator Thorpe on October 3. They promptly collaborated with the social media platform to have the video removed.
