Lidia Thorpe, the outspoken senator who has gained headlines due to her passionate support of Indigenous rights, is probably a name you have heard in recent times in the context of the politics of Australia. However, what about her family background? We should spin a yarn of the nationality of Lidia Thorpe and her rich heritage, which has made her the person that she is today.

What are the Parents of Lidia Thorpe?

Lidia Alma Thorpe was born to parents of extremely different backgrounds on 18 August 1973 in Carlton, Victoria. Her mum is an Aboriginal woman, Marjorie Thorpe, a proud member of the Gunnai people, and her dad, Roy Illingworth, has English and Irish backgrounds.

Such a mixed heritage describes Lidia as a person of English, Irish, Djab Wurrung, Gunnai, and Gunditjmara heritage. To conclude on the answer to the big question–directly answering the question, the parents of Lidia are Australians; however, their background is the more interesting story. Her mother is of Aboriginal Australian origin, and her father has English and Irish origins.

Marjorie Thorpe: A Mythical Activist.

Marjorie Thorpe is not any, mu, she is an Aboriginal rights movement powerhouse. Marjorie is also a Gunnai woman, and she is fighting on behalf of Indigenous Australians. She has worked as the Victorian Co-Commissioner of the Inquiry into Stolen Generations and a representative of the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation.

The investigation of the Stolen Generations was done with the help of Marjorie and served to shed light on one of the darkest periods in the history of Australia, when Aboriginal children were forcefully taken out of their families. Her political activism and commitment to justice were obviously transferred to her daughter, and Lidia regularly attributes the development of her political consciousness and fighting spirit to her mum.

Lidia grew up to become politically active at an early age, learning about the injustices that were caused to Aboriginal people and the necessity of changing the system.

Roy Illingworth: The Other Side of the Story.

Roy Illingworth, the father of Lidia, has the English and Irish half of her birth. Although little is publicly known about Roy as an activist as much as it is about Marjorie, he has appeared in the media to discuss his daughter.

During certain interviews, Roy has also indicated complex feelings toward the politics of Lidia, especially her excessive emphasis on her Aboriginal identity. Nevertheless, regardless of differences, Lidia has a different point of view on Australian identity because of her mixed background, both the indigenous and the European one.

A Family of Activists

The Thorpe family tree is full of activists and changemakers. Lidia, in her turn, is the granddaughter of Alma Thorpe, who was among the pioneers of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in 1973. Alma’s mum, Edna Brown, was also a community organiser who established an Aboriginal funerary fund when she was displaced from the Framlingham Aboriginal reserve.

Robbie Thorpe, the uncle of Lidia, is a renowned Aboriginal activist and has been struggling to defend the rights of Indigenous people since the 1970s. He has fought such causes as the Pay The Rent campaign and Aboriginal sovereignty, and even filed legal actions on charges of crimes against humanity against the Crown.

The activism does not end at that, as the sister of Lidia, Meriki Onus, formed the Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) group together with her co-founder. Talk about a family that talks the walk!

What does this Heritage imply to Lidia?

The hybrid character of Lidia, having both an Aboriginal and a European background, is at the core of her identity and political contribution. She is a Gunnai, Gunditjmara, and Djab Wurrung woman who is a representative of three Aboriginal nations in the state of Victoria.

The Gunnai (or Gunai or Kurnai) are an Australian people of Gippsland, in eastern Victoria. The Gunditjmara people inhabit southwestern Victoria, about Warrnambool and Port Fairy, known to have ancient systems of aquaculture. Djab Wurrung people are the people of the volcanic plains of central Victoria, the Grampians across the Pyrenees range.

In 2020, Lidia was the first Aboriginal senator to be elected into federal parliament in Victoria. Prior to that, she became the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the Victorian parliament in 2017.

Is Robbie Thorpe a Relative of Lidia Thorpe?

Yep! Lidia has an uncle called Robbie Thorpe. He is a Krautungalung Elder of the Gunnai people and a long-time Aboriginal activist. They collaborated in different campaigns, such as debates on genocide and Indigenous sovereignty.

Who Is Nakari Thorpe?

Although she is not directly connected to Lidia, Nakari Thorpe is a high-profile Aboriginal journalist who is employed as an Indigenous Communities Reporter and presenter on the ABC. She is a proud Gunnai, Gunditjmara, and Gooreng Gooreng woman–she has some of the same stock as Lidia. Thorpe was instrumental in establishing the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in its setup, where she could not have done without her grandmother, Nakari.

Who is the Feminist Aboriginal Senator?

Other than Lidia Thorpe, Nova Peris was the first Indigenous woman to be elected as an Australian Senator in 2013. Nova is an Australian born of the Kiga, the Yawuru, and the Muran/ Iwaidja people and is also known as the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander to have won an Olympic gold medal.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is another female Indigenous senator who is of Irish, Scottish, and Warlpiri Aboriginal background. So Lidia is not the only powerful Aboriginal woman who has created her footprint in the Australian Senate.

What Was the Race of Australia First?

The Aboriginal Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent. Archaeological records indicate that Aboriginal people had settled in Australia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and as such, it is one of the oldest continuous cultures on earth.

The Aboriginal people arrived in Australia through Southeast Asia when the sea level was low, traversing both land bridges and water bodies. By approximately 35,000 years ago, they were distributed throughout the whole continent, covering Tasmania and the New Guinea highlands.

In the Aboriginal sense, their association with the land is even stronger. According to Aboriginal beliefs, Aboriginal people have been here since the Dreaming, when the ancestors formed the land and life.

The Bottom Line

That is, the mother and father of Lidia Thorpe are both Australian-born, her mum, Marjorie, being a very strong Aboriginal (Gunnai), and her dad, Roy, a mix of English and Irish. This diverse background, coupled with a family with a long history of activism, has led Lidia to be the ardent supporter that she is today.

It is not only a story of an individual, but of an entire family tradition of battling injustice, culture, and defending right. You may or may not agree with her political views, but there is no use denying the fact that Lidia Thorpe was born to a family of people who have never been afraid of speaking up.

Willing to get to know more about the history of the Indigenous people in Australia, as well as the individuals who are shaping the future of our country? Continue asking questions, continuing to listen, and continue learning; that is how we create a better Australia for all.

Mark Latham, the once bright young hope of Australian Labor and the youngest party leader in a century, has turned out to be one of the most controversial personalities in the politics of NSW. InMark Latham’s latest news in October 2025, he is reported to be engaging in some serious legal battles, being censured in parliament, and his relationship with his former partner is being very publicly broken. Since his tenure as the leader of the opposition, Latham has gone through some crazy paths, from cases of defamation costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

What Is Mark Latham Doing Now?

Since August 2023, Mark Latham has been an independent member of the NSW Legislative Council, having left the One Nation party of Pauline Hanson in August 2023. He has a term in parliament that does not end till 2031, which will have him staying in the politics of NSW for many years. 

Latham has been equally outspoken and provocative in his politics since his departure from the One Nation party, and this has cost him dearly on numerous occasions. He has had several parliamentary scandals, legal cases, and social feuds that have dominated the headlines of both 2024 and 2025.

The Defamation Case: Latham Paying $140,000.

Among the largest articles in Mark Latham’s latest news is the defamation case against Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, which he lost. In September 2024, the Federal Court directed Latham to pay damages totalling 140,000 US dollars after it determined that he had defamed Greenwich with a direct and homophobic 2023 March 2023 tweet.

The tweet was posted in the course of an already heated online discussion following comments by Greenwich to the media, labeling Latham as a disgusting human being. The reaction of Latham showed such sexual acts in graphic detail, which the court considered to have the effect of conveying the message that Greenwich practices disgusting sexual acts.

Justice David O’Callaghan gave Greenwich a non-economic loss of $100,000 and aggravated damages of $40,000. The judge did not accept Latham as having the defences of honest opinion and qualified privilege; in his opinion, the tweet had placed Greenwich in a maelstrom of abuse.

The Money Bomb: The lawsuits may cost up to $500,000.

The damage didn’t stop at $140,000. Latham had to pay Greenwich its legal costs on a party-party basis as ordered by Justice O’Callaghan in April 2025. This will nearly increase the bill of Latham by half a million dollars because it is estimated that Greenwich will incur a cost of about 600,000 in the suit, and party expenses are usually about three-quarters of the winning costs.

It translates to the fact that the defamation suit would cost Latham over 640,000 dollars all in all. Latham once declined to pay less than $20,000 to resolve the case, which is currently becoming a very costly move on his part.

Parl. Censure Effort.

In August 2025, the Legislative Council tried to censure Latham by the NSW Premier, Chris Minns, and Labor over his actions in parliament. The move followed revelations by Latham under the parliamentary privilege to publish information about NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and accuse other members of parliament.

The censure motion was lost 16-22 following a vote by the coalition opposition, the Greens, and minority party MPs to adjourn the motion to October. A number of potent privilege inquiries into allegations against Latham by the powerful US Senate committees are in progress, and reports are likely to be available in October 2025.

It became heated during the debate of the censure motion. Latham referred to the Labor Party leader in the upper house, Penny Sharpe, as an ignorant pig and her fellow members of parliament as disgusting frauds. According to Premier Minns, Latham was a one-trick pony who pursues anyone who calls him to task.

Sharpe told reporters after the vote that the company is supposed to be a model workplace, not a degenerate workplace.

The Nathalie Matthews Saga

The other big item of Mark Latham’s latest news is with regard to his previous girlfriend, Nathalie Matthews. Matthews was 38, and in October 2025, he was arrested in Sydney Airport after spending time in Dubai and was charged with accessing or altering restricted computer data and knowingly recording and sharing intimate photographs with others without consent.

Matthews had already sought a personal apprehended violence order (AVO) on Latham, who was being remanded in court simultaneously with her criminal charges. She has been found not guilty of everything.

In the courthouse yard, Latham started a rant on Matthews, saying the AVO action was a total waste of the time of the court and referring to her in the most offensive language (the ABC, because of legal reasons, could not publish the detailed content of the rant). He argued that the NSW AVO system permits individuals to arrive in this country with a set of personalized lies.

Following the break-up of their relationship in 2024, Matthews made public claims to have been involved in a cycle of degrading sexual behavior by Latham, to which Latham has defended himself. She has not accused him of any criminal offences.

Severed of One Nation and Pauline Hanson.

Mark Latham ended his tenure by One Nation in a dramatic way in August 2023, when Pauline Hanson stepped into the One Nation NSW branch and replaced Latham as a state leader. Latham and MLC Rod Roberts resigned to sit as independents on 22 August 2023.

In November 2018, Latham was elected to One Nation, and in March 2019, won the NSW Legislative Council with the highest personal vote (below-the-line) in the ballot. He recontested to claim a new mandate by stepping down from his office and was re-elected in March 2023.

The division occurred during the tension over the control and leadership of the party. Hanson, who is the registered officer and President of the party, overthrew the state executive of NSW and declared that Latham was no longer the state leader. The new MLC Tania Mihailuk continued to stay with One Nation and became the leader of the party in NSW.

Mark Latham’s Wife and Family

Mark Latham has undergone two marriages. He has one child from his first marriage to Gabrielle Gwyther, whom he married between 1991 and 1997. He married a magistrate working in NSW, Janine Lacy, in 2000, and they had two children together (born in 2002 and 2004).

Latham and Lacy fell in love across party lines, he an MP on the Labor Party, she a staff member at the Liberal Party. But in September 2022, 22 years after their marriage, Latham posted on Facebook that his marriage was over in some highly unusual circumstances. He did not give any details but claimed that his priority was my love and commitment to the best interests of my children.

In all, Mark Latham has three children who are the result of his two marriages.

Mark Latham’s Books

Mark Latham has written a number of books during his political career, yes. His most successful (or notorious) work is The Latham Diaries, which was published in 2005 by Melbourne University Press. The book was quite controversial due to scathing criticisms of the Australian Labor Party and the most personal remarks about people.

Prior to that, Latham authored the book Civilising Global Capital: New Thinking in 1998, which defined his political school of thought, his third way. The book was an attempt to rebrand social democracy to suit the modern era, in which Labor had to change its approaches without abandoning its initial objectives.

He has also authored column articles in the Australian Financial Review as well as featured on television and Radio as a political commentator.

A Rising Star to a Controversial Figure.

The political career of Mark Latham is one of the most dramatic in Australian politics. He was born in Sydney on 28 February 1961 and served Labor legends such as Gough Whitlam and Bob Carr, as well as being elected to Liverpool Council in 1987 and becoming mayor in 1991.

He was elected to the federal seat of Werriwa (formerly held by Whitlam) in 1994 and, in the process, shot up the Labor hierarchy. He was made Labor leader in December 2003, at the age of only 42 – the youngest since 1901. He spearheaded Labor to a loss to John Howard during the 2004 federal elections and retired from politics in January 2005.

Following his exit from parliament, Latham engaged in more and more advocacy against Labor and left-wing politics and joined One Nation in 2018. With time, his commentary on political matters has been growing more inflammatory, which has resulted in his present image as one of the most controversial politicians in Australia.

What’s Next for Mark Latham?

According to Mark Latham’s latest news, Latham is not leaving anytime soon. SooheHe is still rebellious even in the face of the legal bills, censure efforts, and media scandals, and is still using his platform at the NSW Legislative Council to advance his political agenda.

The three-year stretch of his parliamentary tenure may guarantee Australians more headline-grabbing behaviour of the former Labor leader turned independent firebrand. It may be fewer legal battles, legislative confrontations, or a general conflict in the publicity, but Mark Latham remains one of the most controversial and most discussed personages in Australian politics. 

To the ones desiring TarkLatham’s latest news, his scandals do not seem to be stopping anytime soon. Since the time of defamation awards to censure motions and personal courtroom cases, the 64-year-old has been the subject of NSW political scandals.

The name of Andrew Clennell is often mentioned in terms of Sky News reporting and federal politics when speaking about the influential Australian political journalists. But in the case of his Andrew Clennell partner affair, the well-regarded political editor is keeping a very low profile regarding his personal relations, which can be termed as the professionalism that does not tie his professional career to his personal life.

Who Is Andrew Clennell?

Andrew Clennell has become one of the most reputable political journalists in Australia, where he has worked as Political Editor at Sky News Australia since December 2019. Having over 20 years of experience that covers the realm of Australian politics, Clennell has established a significant career path that includes several media organisations of distinction.

Some of his professional qualifications include having served as the NSW Political Editor of The Australian, the State Political Editor of The Daily Telegraph for seven years and the Sydney Morning Herald in other positions. He is also an expert in state and federal politics and, therefore, a major figure in Australian political reporting.

Professional and academic accomplishments and honours

Clennell is a journalist whose work has won him a lot of recognition in the business. He has won the Kennedy award three times in total in political reporting, which served as an indication of his consistent quality output in journalism that influences the political discussion in Australia. The appointment to Sky News particularly received acclaim because of his record of delivering breaking news stories that define and inform the political news agenda.

Andrew Clennell Partner: Personal Matters Privacy

Information on Andrew Clennell’s partner is notably missing in the records of life, regardless of his high-profile status in the Australian media. This privacy stance is in stark contrast to his other political topics, like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose relationship with partner Jodie Haydon has been covered by the media on a regular basis.

The chosen privacy that Clennell has put around his personal relationships is a professional boundary that many journalists create between their personal lives and their work in reporting. Clennell does not allow the public to examine such aspects of his life, like the way he talks about family and partners in interviews.

Specialty and Publicity

Clennell has, over the years during his long career of interviewing the most notable political figures in the history of Australia, shown that he is capable of asking probing questions in a professional manner. His interviews with ministers, prime ministers and opposition leaders demonstrate his dedication to holding politicians responsible without telling any personal stories about his own life.

His LinkedIn profile indicates that he also received his education at Curtin University, where he attained his Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Journalism with distinction between 1992 and 1995. This scholarly background has obviously worked in his favour throughout his professional journey, but information concerning his personal life, such as his fiancée, is not shared.

Attitude to personal privacy

Clennell does not only apply this practice to privacy when it comes to romantic relationships. As compared to certain media faces, who have a history of sharing personal anecdotes or tales about their family, he does not transition between professional coverage and personal life. This border has probably made him a successful political interviewer because the subjects will not easily escape hard questions by citing his personal life.

This professional attitude can also be seen in the social media activity of the journalist since his or her posts appear more to be about political news and commentary than about themselves and their relationship. This uniformity in keeping secret implies that this is not a mere evasion of the discussion.

Standards in industry and privacy

In Australian journalism, especially in politics, there has to be a fine line between personal privacy and reporting on individuals in the public eye. The way Clennell addressed it is an example of how even old journalists can be efficient and get the respect of the audience by not mixing personal issues with their work.

Such a professional boundary is especially crucial when discussing delicate political issues or interviewing people who may seek to avoid answering questions by giving personal references. By keeping his own affairs confidential, such as any Andrew Clennell affair, he sees that his professional credibility would not be damaged.

Conclusion

Although social fascination with Andrew Clennell’s partner and personal relationships is justifiable, considering his high profile in the Australian media, the Sky News Political Editor has managed to remain secret in personal affairs during his illustrious career. His style proves that one can be an effective and well-respected journalist and not disclose their personal relationships to the public.

The three Kennedy Awards and Clennell’s impressive career path indicate that he is not interested in getting his own publicity but is instead keen on delivering quality political journalism. To the Australian audience in need of coverage about the political landscape in the country, his work experience and ability to conduct interviews can still be a good source of information on the most crucial political events in the country.