Independent Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has revealed she will lodging a racism claim with Australian Human Rights Commission against The Greens.
The news comes after the Indigenous senator (who quit the Greens earlier this year) alleged she had been bullied by her former colleagues.
Lidia told ABC TV’s Insiders program on Sunday that she had received legal advice, and that she had sufficient grounds to pursue the complaint with the commission. She declined to discuss the specific details of her complaint.
Last week Lidia claimed that her former colleague Sarah Hanson-Young failed to stand up for her against racism within the party. This was in response to the Greens senator questioning ABC’s David Anderson about Stan Grant‘s Q+A exit over racial abuse.
“Why didn’t you stand up for racism in the part, against me?” she asked.
When asked by Insiders’ host David Speers to elaborate on the claims she made within the Senate estimates, Lidia revealed that she had sought legal advice.
The party was “not aware of any processings against any of its MPs or the party” a spokeswoman for Greens leader Adam Bandt said, as per Sydney Morning Herald.
She said: “The Greens are committed to stamping out racism wherever it occurs, in workplaces everywhere and in institutions like parliament.”
It is unknown if the racism allegations are directed at specific Greens MPs or the party more broadly. According to Sydney Morning Herald, a spokesperson for Lidia declined to comment further when asked to clarify the complaint.
Lidia quit the Greens in 2023, saying in March that it was because of bullying by “senators within the greens” — she didn’t name who was she was making the allegations about. Lidia submitted a formal written complaint to Adam and Parliamentary Workplace Support Service in 2022.
The bullying claim was rejected by The Greens at the time, who said Lidia quit the party before mediation was able to happen.
