Thorpe a blight on the Senate

IF news footage of young police officers copping a mouthful of abuse from Greens senator Lidia Thorpe this week didn’t make your blood boil, my guess is, nothing would.

While I don’t condone violence, had this writer been confronted by some politician screaming and pointing in my face, calling me a “criminal”, dare say by day’s end I’d have joined the dole queue.

Fortunately our police showed far more restraint.

As for Thorpe, she should have been charged with obstruction.

Fact is Lidia Thorpe is antiAustralia everything, the ugly face of politics in this country.

After once being forced to apologise to Liberal Hollie Hughes, after allegedly telling her “at least I keep my legs shut” during a senate debate, to later appearing supportive of the group idiocy who set fire to Old Parliament House, Thorpe is as bitter and angry as she is divisive.

Her latest debacle kicked off during a small demonstration outside the Melbourne Immigration Transit Centre this week over the transportation of 12 detainees to Christmas Island.

Senator Thorpe launched an appalling verbal attack on police, calling them “criminals”, “an absolute disgrace” and telling them they were guilty for “locking up innocent people”.

What a crock!

Subsequent reports showed the 12 so-called innocent detainees Thorpe and her mates were referring to included alleged child sex predators and domestic abusers. In fact, all were persons who’d had their visas cancelled due to criminal convictions and posing a risk to the community.

Thorpe also had the audacity to tell police, “You are the criminals, you are the only criminals on this land”.

While she continued her tirade, supporters tossed in their two bobs’ worth, calling police “white supremacists” and telling them to get “a real job”.

Dare say getting “a real job” was probably not something with which most of those demonstrators would have been familiar and the unelected Senator Thorpe only having hers because it was handed to her on a plate.

That Thorpe also shared her ridiculous antics on her own social media showed not only a lack of judgment but also contempt for the law.

Thorpe’s behaviour continues to be a blight on her position in the Senate, to her party and every single Australian irrespective of colour, creed or nationality, Indigenous or otherwise.

Yet still, this angry, bitter woman continues to use her Indigenous heritage as some sort of free pass to divide rather than unite. And when her boss, Greens leader Adam Bandt, finally did comment on the debacle, it was merely to say his party would “always support protests defending refugees and migrants’ rights”.

So there it is folks, nothing to see here.

As for Victoria Police, association secretary Wayne Gatt later described Thorpe’s behaviour towards members as inappropriate. Wrong!

Thorpe’s behaviour towards police on Wednesday was not merely inappropriate, it was downright disgraceful.

While Victoria’s police came in for some pretty solid criticism during the pandemic, some was justified but much of it was not.

Fact is, policing is a tough job. It comes with more than its fair share of abuse and violence, being spat at, spewed on, sworn at, assaulted and having to deal with the worst humanity has to offer, on a daily basis.

What police are not there for is to be abused by some jumped-up senator who should know better, behave better and whose only claim to fame so far has been to carry around, like some sort of badge of honour, a king-size chip on her shoulder.

Australia already has enough problems to contend with.

What it does not need are nasty attention seekers disguised as politicians like Lidia Thorpe.

THORPE’S BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS POLICE ON WEDNESDAY WAS NOT MERELY INAPPROPRIATE, IT WAS DOWNRIGHT DISGRACEFUL.