National

Independent senator stands by decision to retire

By AAP Newswire

Aug 16, 2023

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has no second thoughts about quitting parliament when her time is up, saying she must make way for the younger generation.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on her 50th birthday on Wednesday, Senator Thorpe described herself as "tired" and said she would be 55 years old when her spot in the upper house would be up for re-election.

"I do want some peace in my life from this hard fight and this hard struggle," she said.

"There are too many old crusty politicians in there (parliament) that have no idea what it's like to struggle.

"They need to retire and let the younger generation through because it's our young people's future."

Senator Thorpe said there were politicians who were stuck in the "stone age" who wouldn't "let go of the power and the privilege".

"Let the younger breed come in, whoever they are ... but that's what I'm going to be moving over for, because that's the right thing to do as a leader," she said.

Senator Thorpe quit the Greens earlier this year over the party's support for the Indigenous voice.

She is instead calling for a treaty between Australian governments and Indigenous communities.

Senator Thorpe filled a casual vacancy in 2020 and went on to be elected to the Senate for Victoria last year.