Lidia Thorpe says she doesn’t feel at home at Parliament House in Melbourne.
The Greens MP has written to the speaker of the house asking for “meaningful changes”, calling for an Aboriginal cultural advisory group to recommend how parliament could better acknowledge Indigenous Australians.
“Coming into this place as the only Aboriginal person in parliament is a pretty scary, daunting environment,” she told NITV News.
“None of what this place is about reflects my people when our people have been here a lot longer than this establishment. We’re talking about staff, we’re talking about MPs, everybody associated with this building and this structure.
“I haven’t met any Aboriginal people that work here or are associated with this place.”
Ms Thorpe raised the issue during a grievance debate on Wednesday afternoon.
“As an Aboriginal person, I do not feel at home at parliament,” she told parliament.
“The buildings, the artworks, the gardens and almost all the practices are a monument to British colonial practices and history.”
Earlier this week, every MP in the lower house stood as a sign of respect during the acknowledgement of country – a symbolic gesture which the member for Northcote and her fellow Greens began several weeks ago.
