Senator Lidia Thorpe says she pledged allegiance to the queen's 'hairs', not heirs, in defence of royal protest

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Senator Lidia Thorpe revealed on the ABC's Afternoon Briefing program that she swore allegiance to the queen's ‘hairs’, not ‘heirs’, when being sworn into Parliament two years ago. The Coalition is exploring options and considering legal opinion.

Transcript

00:00I swore allegiance to the Queen's hares, if you listen close enough.

00:07It wasn't her heirs, it was her hares that I was giving my allegiance to.

00:15And now that, you know, they're no longer here, I don't know where that stands, but

00:19I'm not giving up my job, I'm not resigning.

00:23What's the significance of that mispronunciation, I don't know if that's the right description,

00:27but in using that phrase, and you did deliberately say hares as you swore your affirmation in

00:35the Senate, what's the import of that?

00:39Does it invalidate your oath of affirmation, or your statement of affirmation?

00:45I'm not a, I'm not a, I'm not an expert on the colonial laws.

00:52The only experience I've had with colonial laws is the violence of them, and the violence

01:00of pledging allegiance to the oppressor is absolutely out of date, and absolutely a disgusting

01:10thing to make someone do.

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