Thorpe said she understood that Greens MPs and many rank-and-file members were pro-Voice,but this was at odds with the majority position of her Indigenous activist base “who are saying treaty before Voice”.
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“This is the message delivered on the streets on January 26,” she said,adding she was thankful for the support she received from Bandt and Faruqi.
The controversial senator,who has held the party’s First Nations portfolio until now,has repeatedly criticised the Voice,stepping up her criticism in recent weeks and paving a way for a split with her party room colleagues.
The Greens’ formal policy position is to support all elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart,including its primary call for a constitutional Voice to parliament,but Thorpe has condemned the referendum as a “waste of money” and her ongoing vocal opposition has undermined the party’s position of broad support for the proposal.
The move clears the way for Bandt to announce the Greens’ support for the Voice,and also changes the numbers on the Senate crossbench that Labor needs to pass legislation.
Thorpe’s defection to the crossbench reduces the Greens’ numbers from 12 to 11 on the Senate floor,meaning Labor will now need the Greens’ bloc plus two extra crossbench votes to pass legislation when it is opposed by the Coalition.
Until now,Labor has relied on ACT senator David Pocock for the extra crossbench vote to pass laws,but Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie and her colleague Tammy Tyrrell will likely become more powerful on the crossbench if the government cannot negotiate with Thorpe.
Thorpe said she would continue to vote with the Greens on climate issues,but would not comment further about her time in the party. She finished a press conference announcing her split without taking questions.
Thorpe did not attend a two-day retreat in Mount Macedon,Victoria,last week,at which the party discussed its position on the Voice.
Thorpe’s office informed this masthead on Friday that she attended the meeting remotely. But on Saturday,after sources confirmed she did not attend at all,Thorpe’s office admitted she did not attend. The office said Thorpe was attending to the death of a relative earlier last week.
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On Saturday,The Age andSydney Morning Herald reportedThorpe had demanded that none of her fellow Greens MPs,including another Indigenous senator,meet with Indigenous community members about the Voice to parliament,insisting only she was allowed to do so.
Three senior Greens said they had become increasingly frustrated that Thorpe’s overt hostility towards the Voice is seen as the Greens’ position because,as the party’s spokeswoman on Indigenous issues,the high-profile senator was leading negotiations with the government.
Thorpe has said she would not support legislation for a Voice to parliament “unless I am satisfied that First Nations sovereignty is not ceded”.
A group of constitutional experts advising the Albanese government on the Voice on Thursday affirmed that the issue of sovereignty is unaffected by the Voice.
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