Greens senator is KICKED OUT of Senate yelling about 'black lives'

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    Indigenous Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has been kicked out of Parliament after she stripped off in the middle of a debate and shouted: 'Black lives don't matter in Beetaloo'.

    Ms Thorpe, 48, was protesting against $50 million in grants for new gas projects in the Northern Territory when she suddenly whipped off her jacket and scarf on Monday.

    Her outburst came during a debate when she slammed Labor for not supporting the Greens against the drilling project in the NT's Beetaloo Basin.

    She revealed a white t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan Black Lives Don't Matter in the Beetaloo, a play on the Black Lives Matter campaign in the USA.

    'Both Labor and the Liberals need to stop listening to the oil and gas companies that purchase you and your vote,' she raged. 'Listen to the people.'

    (© Provided by Daily Mail (

    'You're being given given an opportunity to do the right thing, so do it now. Don't wait. Black lives don't matter in the Beetaloo unless you do the right thing.'

    She added: 'If you really care, you would listen to the traditional owners who don't want their country fracked, and protect sacred sites and the environment.

    'Vote like black lives depend on it because they do.'

    After the Victoria senator repeatedly chanted 'Black lives don't matter in the Beetaloo - it's shameful...shame!' she was ejected from the chamber for 'wearing a slogan'.

    (© Provided by Daily Mail (

    Earlier, the debate heard gas drilling could add 13 per cent each year to Australia's carbon emissions, but the move to block the grants failed when Labour abstained.

    The NT government has given Australian oil and gas company Empire Energy the green light to explore the viability of gas projects in the basin.

    Nationals senator Matt Canavan said Australia needed more secure oil and gas supplies to become self-sufficient.

    (© Provided by Daily Mail (

    Europe had 'become slaves to Moscow' and needed to beg Russia to supply enough gas after shutting down its own gas projects, he said.

    'We do not want to be beholden to dictatorial authoritarian regimes which is what happens when you do not develop your own energy resources,' Senator Canavan added.

    No Labor senator spoke on the motion to block the grants but the opposition has previously backed exploration in the basin.


 
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