Latest news with #Thorpe
Sky News AU
39 minutes ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Former Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe slammed as 'a disgrace' to Australia after 'egregiously' flipping off Buckingham Palace in provocative social media post
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has caused fresh controversy after sharing photos of herself making a rude gesture outside Buckingham Palace. The 51-year-old former Greens senator posted several images to social media on Friday showing her standing outside the gates of the royal residence, holding the Aboriginal flag and raising her middle finger. She also wore a "Blak Sovereign Movement" T-shirt. "Dropped by to collect all the stuff this lot stole, but Charlie wasn't in," she captioned the post. It's understood Thorpe, a proud Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, was in London this week to attend a conference. Her post quickly drew mixed reactions, with some critics questioning whether her trip was taxpayer-funded. "Who paid for your trip?" one user asked, while another wrote: "Do you know you don't speak for Australia. We actually can't stand you, I personally look forward to your term ending in the Senate!" Others praised Thorpe's actions, calling her "Queen" and applauding the gesture. "The only Queen I'll ever recognise!" one user commented. On Sunday, the stunt was blasted by News Corp columnist and Sky News contributor Angela Mollard during The Royal Report. "She's in England at the moment, she's gone to Buckingham Palace, and outside of it, she's held up a flag, and she's egregiously put up the middle finger to the King," Mollard told host Caroline Di Russo. "She is a disgrace to this country, honestly." Mollard said she had "done a deep dive" to determine whether the Melbourne-based politician was in the UK on any official business. "Of course she has the right, like anybody has, for freedom of speech," she said. "But if she's there for any meeting, any tax-paid funded part of that trip- I'm presuming it's a private trip- then she needs to be hauled over the coals for this." Mollard also referenced Thorpe's previous clash with King Charles III during his visit to Australia with Queen Camilla last year, when Thorpe interrupted a reception at Parliament House, shouting: "You are not our king. You are not sovereign." Just moments before, the 76-year-old monarch had delivered a speech praising Australia. Thorpe was removed from the event by security and later censured by the Australian parliament in a 46 to 12 vote condemning her conduct as "disruptive and disrespectful". Reflecting on that moment, Mollard said: "Last year when that happened in parliament, I was on air all day in the UK doing television and radio crosses because the Northern Hemisphere could not believe we would have someone of that note in a public setting like that screaming at the King." She added that Thorpe's latest stunt may only strengthen public support for the royal family. "So every time she does something like this, it drives the populous to think, 'Well, she's nuts, and actually, we quite like the royal family'- they do lots of service, King Charles has been there for 76 years, he's coping with cancer and he still turns up for multiple things during the week. "She's the one who looks silly." Di Russo added that the "wild irony" was that Thorpe had to pledge allegiance to the King in order to become a senator. has contacted Senator Thorpe for further comment.
The Age
a day ago
- Politics
- The Age
Anglican Church can't grow if it fails to accept gay reality
The other day a friend showed me photos of her friends' same-sex wedding. Such joyful scenes as family and friends celebrated with the happy couple. It wasn't a church wedding, and certainly not an Anglican wedding – not even a wedding blessing. While the Anglican Church's highest court has said it is not against the church's constitution to bless same-sex weddings, only a handful of Australian dioceses have permitted that. And now Melbourne Diocese – once the progressive capital of the Australian church – has elected an archbishop firmly opposed to same-sex weddings. There will be no wedding blessings here. He is quoted in last Sunday's Age as saying that church must welcome people in same-sex relationships. But that rings hollow. How can you welcome people while damning their relationships as sinful? The newly elected archbishop, Ric Thorpe, a bishop from London, is first and foremost a church planter. That is why his Melbourne supporters have chosen him. The church is in decline in Melbourne, with numbers of worshippers dropping and many small parishes struggling for survival. His supporters want to see significant growth in the church, and think that means planting lots of new congregations. But will those brave new plants be attractive to Australians in the 21st century, when presumably they will be preaching against same-sex marriage, given the core group of Melbourne Anglicans who campaigned for his election hold the same view? When more than 60 per cent of Australians voted in favour of same-sex marriage in the 2017 plebiscite? Bishop Thorpe claims the Scriptures are clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that cannot be set aside. Many significant scripture scholars read the Bible differently. They say the very few Bible verses that are claimed to prohibit same-sex relationships actually prohibit only promiscuous, predatory relationships. But conservatives have latched on to same-sex prohibition as their line in the sand. Some would argue they took up the cause when they lost the debate in the 1990s about ordaining women. It has given them a stick to knock progressive Anglicans into the ground. The election of Bishop Thorpe shows they are winning. The debate has echoes of the nasty debate that raged in the Anglican Church over divorce last century. Divorced people could not remarry in church, and often were made distinctly unwelcome in congregations. It was Melbourne Diocese in the 1970s that overturned that, and pushed the national church to change. And in 1972, Melbourne Diocese called for homosexuality to be decriminalised, eight years before the state government agreed. How sad that Melbourne has now joined the conservatives. Bishop Thorpe is quoted as saying that the same-sex debate is 'a distraction' from the message of the church. No, it is harming the church's message. The church's message is that God is love, and loves all people unconditionally – and that includes gay people, their spouses and their families.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Anglican Church can't grow if it fails to accept gay reality
The other day a friend showed me photos of her friends' same-sex wedding. Such joyful scenes as family and friends celebrated with the happy couple. It wasn't a church wedding, and certainly not an Anglican wedding – not even a wedding blessing. While the Anglican Church's highest court has said it is not against the church's constitution to bless same-sex weddings, only a handful of Australian dioceses have permitted that. And now Melbourne Diocese – once the progressive capital of the Australian church – has elected an archbishop firmly opposed to same-sex weddings. There will be no wedding blessings here. He is quoted in last Sunday's Age as saying that church must welcome people in same-sex relationships. But that rings hollow. How can you welcome people while damning their relationships as sinful? The newly elected archbishop, Ric Thorpe, a bishop from London, is first and foremost a church planter. That is why his Melbourne supporters have chosen him. The church is in decline in Melbourne, with numbers of worshippers dropping and many small parishes struggling for survival. His supporters want to see significant growth in the church, and think that means planting lots of new congregations. But will those brave new plants be attractive to Australians in the 21st century, when presumably they will be preaching against same-sex marriage, given the core group of Melbourne Anglicans who campaigned for his election hold the same view? When more than 60 per cent of Australians voted in favour of same-sex marriage in the 2017 plebiscite? Bishop Thorpe claims the Scriptures are clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that cannot be set aside. Many significant scripture scholars read the Bible differently. They say the very few Bible verses that are claimed to prohibit same-sex relationships actually prohibit only promiscuous, predatory relationships. But conservatives have latched on to same-sex prohibition as their line in the sand. Some would argue they took up the cause when they lost the debate in the 1990s about ordaining women. It has given them a stick to knock progressive Anglicans into the ground. The election of Bishop Thorpe shows they are winning. The debate has echoes of the nasty debate that raged in the Anglican Church over divorce last century. Divorced people could not remarry in church, and often were made distinctly unwelcome in congregations. It was Melbourne Diocese in the 1970s that overturned that, and pushed the national church to change. And in 1972, Melbourne Diocese called for homosexuality to be decriminalised, eight years before the state government agreed. How sad that Melbourne has now joined the conservatives. Bishop Thorpe is quoted as saying that the same-sex debate is 'a distraction' from the message of the church. No, it is harming the church's message. The church's message is that God is love, and loves all people unconditionally – and that includes gay people, their spouses and their families.
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Parker: Calgary-based Briden Solutions becomes Canadian leader in emergency prepackaged food
Article content Former Calgary commercial realtor Peter Thorpe, who decided to semi-retire on Vancouver Island a few years ago, still maintains many relationships here and I'm fortunate to be one of them — and he has introduced me to a Calgary company that is helping him on his annual long walk for charity. Article content I was somewhat responsible for the relationship he has with Opportunity International Canada, a charity that equips people with microloans in developing countries. Thorpe uses his love of walking to raise funds by Walking People Out of Poverty. Article content Article content This year, accompanied by Opportunity International CEO Dan Murray, he will complete another 300 kilometres of his long walk from Mexico to Canada. Article content The Calgary company, Briden Solutions, is providing a grateful Thorpe with 15 prepackaged meals that will satisfy his appetite along the way. Article content Dwight and Kristen Bullock were both farm kids, growing up used to being isolated, carrying water and accustomed to the benefits of a root cellar. Moving into city life and seeing people relying on a trip to the grocery store on the way home from work was a shock to their self-reliant mentality. Article content Not wanting to fall into the same routine, they researched the quality, goodness, calories and shelf life of what was offered, and began a way of life that others soon wanted to learn about. Article content Article content People began keeping emergency food in cupboards and cars, and the Bullocks became pioneers of the survival and emergency industry, founding Briden Solutions in 2009. Working out of their basement, they were primarily involved in emergency preparedness and assisting those involved in helping others after natural disasters. Briden has since helped people through the Fort McMurray fire of 2016, sent staff as well as survival items to High River after the devastating flood of 2013, and been of invaluable help to first responders and families in natural and man-made situations across Western Canada.
Sydney Morning Herald
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Anglicans vote for change with new archbishop
Melbourne Anglicans have voted for 'massive change' in their new archbishop, Bishop Ric Thorpe from London, a specialist in 'church planting' and revitalising congregations, who will take up the post later this year. Thorpe, who describes himself as a low-church Anglican influenced by the charismatic movement, seems to tick most of the boxes for an archbishop in post-Christian Australia – although not on the topic of same-sex marriages. He is intelligent, personable, articulate and media-savvy, with a clear vision of both the challenges ahead and some potential ways of meeting them. The problems include declining congregations, large numbers of unviable parishes, a financial crisis that if unchecked will see the diocese run out of money in 2028, the need to reshape the diocesan centre ministry, and running a huge property portfolio. However, the diocese is more unified than the one Thorpe's predecessor, Archbishop Philip Freier, encountered when he arrived from Darwin in 2006. Thorpe, 59, says he is up for the challenge. 'The church in general has always got to be on the front foot of change, and institutionally we find change hard. We have to honour the past, navigate change in the present, and build for the future,' he says. He has spent much of his time on the edge of the institutional church, where there is space to try new things and not everything will work. 'At the centre there are some risks you can't take because it would lead to catastrophe. But if something takes root on the edge, it can change the centre of gravity. 'There are two kinds of institutional change, revolution and evolution. And revolution involves a lot of blood and pain, not good things. Evolution involves change at different paces.' Melbourne's election synod last month took only three ballots to give Thorpe the necessary two-thirds majority in both houses, laity and clergy. Not all Anglicans are delighted, however. Many in the shrinking but still influential wing of high-church Anglo-Catholics are unhappy at the election process, in which the nominations committee presented four candidates: Bishop Thorpe and three others from the evangelical wing, who are emerging leaders but not bishops. ('Evangelical' in the British and Australian context is not the deeply conservative, politically active, Donald Trump-supporting US version, but has kept its older meaning of favouring the Bible over tradition and emphasising making disciples.) Popular assistant bishop Paul Barker, considered acceptable to all the main factions, did not make the short list. 'What an indictment of the church in Australia that not one bishop was considered worthy,' said one Anglo-Catholic, pointing out that Thorpe has never been a conventional bishop with a region. As bishop of Islington in London, his role has been task-oriented, overseeing and mentoring church planters – those who establish new churches. But Thorpe clearly impressed during several long visits to Melbourne in recent years to work with church planters here, and his supporters see considerable strengths. One told The Age: 'He's smart, godly, and understands the complexity of the job, both spiritually and managerially. He has a really good understanding of what's needed to run a complex organisation, though that is secondary to spiritual importance.'
