Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe has quit the Greens party and will move to the crossbench, due to disagreeing with her colleagues on the topic of Indigenous sovereignty.
The First Nations senator confirmed the news to reporters in Canberra on Monday, the first day of parliament for the year.
"This country has a strong grassroots Black sovereign movement, full of staunch and committed warriors, and I want to represent that movement fully in this parliament. It has become clear to me that I can't do that from within the Greens."
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Senator Thorpe said her new independence would enable her to better fight for First Nations justice and sovereignty.
"I'm ready for what comes next in the fight for a future where our kids are with their families, where our people are not killed in custody, where the chains that the system wraps around our people are lifted. I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective without being constrained by portfolios and agreed party positions."
Senator Thorpe said a Voice to Parliament was at odds with what parts of her community had told her but noted she had not reached her final position on the constitutional change, which is expected to be put to a referendum later this year.
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