October 21, 2024, 9:30 AM
October 21, 2024, 9:30 AM
An Australian senator rebuked Charles III this Monday (10/21/2024) about the legacy of British colonization in the country, where the monarch called for mobilization against climate change during a speech before Parliament in Canberra.
The king, who announced eight months ago that he suffers from cancer, is on a nine-day visit to Australia, where he is head of state, and Samoa. This is his longest tour abroad since he was crowned in May 2023.
At the end of a speech before the Australian Parliament, Aboriginal senator Lidia Thorp questioned the monarch, shouting anti-colonial slogans at him. “Give us back our land! Give us what you stole from us!” the deputy launched into a diatribe that lasted almost a minute.
“This is not your land, you are not my king,” the independent legislator insisted before the 75-year-old sovereign, after citing the “genocide” of indigenous Australians at the hands of European settlers.
Australia was a British colony for more than a century, during which thousands of Aboriginal people were killed and entire communities displaced. The country gained de facto independence in 1901, but never became a full-fledged republic. Carlos III is the head of state.
Earlier, the king had urged Australia, heavily dependent on the mining industry, to take a leading position in the fight against climate change. “Being good managers of the world is something that interests us all,” declared Charles III in his first speech before the Australian Chamber as head of state.
