DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman Thorpe, who has been a member of federal parliament since 2020, announced her decision to quit the party on Monday.
“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,” she said.
“It has become clear to me I can’t do that from within the Greens.
“Now I will be able to speak freely on all issues from a sovereign perspective without being constrained from portfolios and agreed party positions.”
It comes after Thorpe questioned the Voice to parliament, which the Albanese government is pushing to succeed at a referendum this year.
It’s understood Thorpe had reached a deal with the Greens to allow her to personally vote against the proposal if and when the party decided to support it.
“This is at odds with the community of activists who are saying treaty before Voice,” she said.
”My elders marched for a treaty. This is who I am.”
She said she wouldn’t be announcing her final position on the Voice and will continue to negotiate with the government.
“First Nations sovereignty is crucial and so is saving lives today,” she said.
Thorpe called for the government to introduce a royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody and implement recommendations from the Bringing Them Home report.
With Thorpe’s decision to quit the Greens, it could mean the party will now support the Voice.
