Senator Lidia Thorpe, Senator for Victoria, will make her Address to the National Press Club of Australia entitled "It's Time For Us To Mature As A Nation".
*This year, any debate on First Nations justice has been dominated by Constitutional Recognition and the Voice to Parliament while the voices of First Nations communities and grassroots activists have been silenced. Senator Lidia Thorpe will reflect on the history of the Blak Sovereign Movement and explain why this referendum is not a step in the right direction. It is time for all Australians to join First Peoples on a journey of truth-telling to resolve the unfinished business of invasion and colonisation in this country. Senator Thorpe will propose a new way forward that will bring peace and create a foundation for all people on this land to live in harmony with each other and Country.
Lidia Thorpe is a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung mother, grandmother, activist, and politician. She is an Independent Senator for Victoria and was the first Aboriginal Senator from Victoria.
Born into a poor family in inner Melbourne’s housing commission flats, Lidia Thorpe was raised to advocate for herself and those around her.
After surviving domestic violence, Lidia raised three kids as a single mum and went on to university to study policy. This equipped her to advocate for women’s rights, public health, environmental protection, public housing and child protection. Lidia is an active campaigner for social and environmental justice, and she is a sought-after facilitator, public speaker and commentator.
In 2017, she was the first Aboriginal woman elected to the Victorian parliament. As the Victorian Greens MP for Northcote, she held several portfolios including Aboriginal Affairs, mental health, consumer affairs and sport.
In 2020 Lidia was chosen to replace Richard Di Natale in the Senate and was sworn in holding a message stick burned with 441 marks, one for each death in custody since the handing down of the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 and holding up her fist in a gesture of strength and solidarity.
In 2023 she left the Greens to sit on the crossbench as an Independent representing the Blak Sovereign Movement.
*Provided by speaker organisation
