The Australian first reported her absences after the Indigenous senator came under widespread criticism for confronting King Charles in Parliament to draw attention to the plight of First Nations people and seek a treaty.
Separately Thorpe backflipped on her comments to ABC TV on Wednesday that she deliberately misspoke when swearing allegiance to the Queen by saying “hairs” instead of “heirs”, saying on Thursday she read the word out phonetically and the mispronunciation was not deliberate.
“I spoke what I read on the card. Now forgive me for not being you know, my English grammar isn’t as good as others, and I spoke what I read, so I misspoke,” she told Sky.
However, Coalition senate leader Simon Birmingham sent a letter on Thursday to the Senate president Sue Lines requesting she review Thorpe’s admission and eligibility.
“The Coalition believes this matter must be resolved so that the integrity and authority of the Senate is maintained,” Birmingham wrote. Lines was contacted for comment.
Birmingham’s letter added Thorpe’s outburst creates a risk that visiting leaders will question whether speaking at parliament has too high a potential for embarrassment.
The only senator with more days of absence than Thorpe is former Pat Dodson who resigned as he battled a serious cancer. Thorpe’s absences were much higher than anyone else, including Foreign Minister Penny Wong who has been absent for 23 days because of the overseas travel her role requires.
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