Peter Dutton says Lidia Thorpe should resign in principle after interrupting King Charles

Lidia Thorpe should resign from the Senate if she does not support Australia's system of government, the opposition leader has said.

Peter Dutton made the comments on Sunrise on Tuesday morning after Senator Thorpe interrupted Monday's reception for King Charles III at Parliament House, shouting "you are not our king" and "this is not your land".

"I think there's a very strong argument for somebody who doesn't believe in the system but is willing to take a quarter of a million dollars a year from the system to resign in principle," Mr Dutton said, referencing the base salary for parliamentarians.

"If you were truly about your cause and not yourself, I think that's a decision you would make."

Senator Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, was escorted from Parliament's Great Hall by security after her interjection, in which she accused the monarchy of "genocide against our people".

Mr Dutton said it had "overshadowed" the king's otherwise successful visit and told the ABC's AM he did not "intend to add to the self-promotion she seeks".

Senator Thorpe has drawn criticism from several prominent Indigenous leaders and from government ministers.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said it was "pretty disrespectful, not just to the king but to the many Australians who had gathered" to meet the king.

"This is a stunt by Lidia Thorpe, and giving her oxygen is exactly what she wants," she added.

Linda Burney, the former minister for Indigenous Australians who remains an MP, said "an element of respect" was required even for those who did not agree with the monarchy.

"I don't think Lidia did herself any favours or acted respectfully," she told the ABC.

"There is freedom of speech, but I guess for me it's the way in which you exercise that freedom to be most effective. I'm not making a judgement either way."

In an interview on ABC RN on Tuesday morning, Senator Thorpe said she had written to the king seeking a meeting and a "respectful conversation" about treaty-making with the First Nations and the repatriation of stolen remains but received no response.

"That wasn't afforded to me, so I did that for my people … My approach unfortunately might upset a few people, but how else do you get your message across when we're consistently shut down?"

The senator said she did not accept the legitimacy of "the colonial structures" of Australia's system of government, and that she had sworn loyalty to the Crown, as required of all parliamentarians, only "under duress".

"We should not be kneeling to the coloniser who caused this country so much harm … [swearing loyalty] was a very, very difficult thing to do, however, I was told if I didn't do it, I couldn't be a senator to bring Blak issues into this space and around the world like I have."

She added she would not resign.

"I really don't care what Dutton says, I'm going to be in this job for another three and a half years and I'm not looking to be re-elected, I'm looking to get justice for my people."

The king's reception at Parliament House began with a Welcome to Country from Ngunnawal elder Aunty Violet Sheridan, who described the welcome as a two-sided process.

"[It] is a traditional Aboriginal blessing, symbolising the Traditional Owners of the lands welcoming you. But it also shows your respect for the First Peoples of the land you are meeting on," she said.

King Charles told the reception at Parliament House he had been "shaped and strengthened by [the] traditional wisdom" of First Nations people. (AAP: Lukas Coch)

In his remarks, King Charles praised the "courage and hope that have guided the nation's long and sometimes difficult journey towards reconciliation".

"Throughout my life, Australia's First Nations peoples have done me the great honour of sharing so generously their stories and cultures. I can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom."