Home Affairs Minister Urges Cooler Heads After Senator Threatens to Burn Down Parliament

Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke says there’s no benefit in responding to Senator Lidia Thorpe’s comments angrily.

Ex-Deputy Leader of the Greens in the Senate Lidia Thorpe speaks to the crowd with mock blood on her hands on September 22, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Indigenous groups have held "Abolish the Monarchy" rallies around Australia on Thursday to highlight the impact of British colonisation in Australia. Thursday 22 September was declared a one-off public holiday as a National Day of Mourning for Australia following Queen Elizabeth II's death. Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security Tony Burke has called for Australians to bring the political temperature down after former Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe told a pro-Palestine rally she would be willing to burn down Parliament House.

Addressing the Melbourne crowd on Oct. 12, she said: “We stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day, and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point … I am not there to make friends.”