Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has indicated she may run again for her seat in the Australian Senate when her current term expires.
In 2023, the Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman made an unequivocal statement that , citing her age.
“I’m 50 next month … I don’t want to become a old crusty politician with old daggy ideas. We need new people coming in with fresh ideas,” she said.
“I don’t intend on running again, definitely not.”
Speaking on a recent podcast, Thorpe, to advocate for the Blak Sovereign Movement and against the Voice to Parliament, walked back that pledge.
“I was a bit selfish saying ‘That’s it, I’m going, I need a rest’,” she told Australian podcast Serious Danger.
“But I have to do this. I have a responsibility to maintain a Blak Sovereign voice in that parliament to keep them accountable, to hold them all accountable.”
Senators in Australia are elected to six-year parliamentary terms.
Ms Thorpe indicated that she intends to campaign on a ticket with another Blak Sovereign Movement member, to whom she will eventually hand the seat if elected.
“I will run again, just to see if I can get that seat back, and then I’ll hand it over,” she said.
Given the years still left to serve on her term, the senator left open the possibility of leaving parliament for good in 2028.
“We’ve got a long time, we’ve got to get there first,” she said.
‘Racism is peaking’ in Australia
The podcast, posted in the lead up to January 26, also touched on Thorpe’s reflections on racism and politics in the lead up to the national holiday.
“It’s a very stressful time … Everyone’s heightened by the racism that we need to be prepared for,” she said.
“I think racism is peaking in this country … We need strong leadership.
“It’s not getting better, it’s getting worse.”
At the South Australian Invasion Day march in Adelaide on Sunday, 16 men affiliated with a neo-Nazi group were arrested for offences such as loitering and resisting arrest.
One man was charged with “displaying a Nazi symbol”.