Lidia Thorpe says her rallying cry to "burn down Parliament House to make a point" about Gaza was just a figure of speech, after she was roundly criticised across the political spectrum.

At a rally in Melbourne on Sunday, the firebrand senator for Victoria compared the plight of Palestinians to that of Indigenous Australians.

"So we stand with you every day, and we will fight every day and we will turn up every day and if I have to, burn down Parliament House to make a point," she said, to cheers from the crowd.

The comments sparked a political firestorm, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke urging leaders to avoid inflaming community tensions.

He said the natural instinct when "offensive" comments were made was to "increase the pressure."

"I don't think that's in the interests of so

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