Canberra; Lidia Thorpe, an Australian senator, was told to cover up her "inappropriate" T-shirt during a contentious discussion about indigenous rights in Parliament. 

The discussion took place on Monday during a vote in the upper house to establish the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a federal advisory body made up of members from indigenous communities.

In a passionate speech, Thorpe argued that the proposal was equivalent to "appeasing the white guilt" and that indigenous people should take their place in Parliament. She was sporting a grey T-shirt that was printed with the slang term "gammin" in bold white letters. 

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The attire, according to Senate President Sue Lines, was improper. "I invite you to go cover your T-shirt with a jacket. Slogans are prohibited inside the chamber, Lines informed Thorpe. Later, she gave the same instructions again, stating that "any slogans that can be read by me are inappropriate."

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Thorpe put on a black jacket in response. From the Senate floor, she declared, "Gammin, as we know, is fake, pretend, and a joke.

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The chamber ultimately approved the Indigenous Voice bill. A referendum on the proposal will be held at some point this year.

The measure, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, would result in "a stronger, fairer, more reconciled and more united Australia."