Independent senator Fatima Payman has announced her new political party, calling it ‘Australia’s Voice’.
Payman said the party, which was registered last week, will be for the “disenfranchised and the unheard”, noting that she believes the Labor Party has “lost its way”.
“Australians are fed up with the major parties having a duopoly, a stranglehold over our democracy. If we need to drag the two major parties kicking and screaming to do what needs to be done, we will do it,” Payman said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“I’m reminded of the quote by the great Gough Whitlam: ‘There are some people who are so frightened to put a foot forward, to put a foot wrong, that they won’t put a foot forward’. This comment was made in 1985 and applies so much to the current Labor party, who has lost its way.
“Australia’s Voice believes in a system where people come first, where your concerns are not just heard, but acted upon.”
Payman, who represents Western Australia in the Senate, said Australia’s Voice would reject the status quo “that serves the powerful and ignores the rest”.
In July this year, the former Labor Senator was suspended from the Labor Party after crossing the floor to support the Greens over the issue of Palestinian statehood. Payman subsequently quit the ALP. At the time, she said “my conscience leaves me no choice”.
Over the weekend, Payman clarified her party would not be religion based, nor a “single-issue party”, instead focusing on issues like aged care, the environment and housing.
Speaking at Parliament House on Wednesday, Payman said many people have expressed to her that they feel left behind by the major parties.
“So many of you have told me with emotions in your hearts, we need something different. We need a voice. It is this cry for change that has brought us here today. Because we can no longer sit by while our voices are drowned out by the same old politics,” she said.
“It’s time to stand up, to rise together and to take control of our future. And so it is with great humility and deep responsibility that I announce the formation of Australia’s Voice, a new political party for the disenfranchised, the unheard, and those yearning for real change.”
Payman said the official policy platform of Australia’s Voice would come in due course.
“All you have to do is look back at a few of my speeches since becoming an independent, whether that’s negative gearing and capital gains tax in terms of housing affordability, or whether it’s looking at our aged care reform bills or whether it’s looking at early childhood education, making sure that parents and families are able to put food on the table while ensuring their kids get a good education,” she said.
“So there’s lots to look at. But obviously we will be announcing it in due course.”
Payman also noted selection of candidates for the next election would occur in the near future, and she isn’t ruling out anyone.
“It will be based on merit and value alignment when it comes to selecting those candidates. We are not ruling out anyone again. Australia’s Voice is for each and every person, and we welcome candidates,” she said.