Labor senator, Fatima Payman has been suspended indefinitely from the Australian Labor Party after pledging to cross the floor again if a motion supporting an independent Palestinian state is reintroduced to parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reinforced his authority yesterday, after Payman– who was sanctioned last week for crossing the floor on the issue a first time– indicated that she might once more breach caucus solidarity rules to vote against her party in favour of recognising Palestine as a state.
“If the same motion on recognising the state of Palestine was to be brought forward tomorrow, I would cross the floor,” she told the ABC’s Insiders.
Following this statement, Albanese summoned Payman to the Lodge, reportedly frustrated that her position would divert the government from its focus on the cost of living.
He suspended her from the Labor caucus, suggesting she could only return to the party room when she respects Labor’s rules of solidarity.
In other words: “return only when you’re willing to bypass your own convictions to toe the party line”.
And yes, while there’s an argument to be made in support of Albanese’s decision, there’s another, far more compelling one, that flies furiously against it.
Following Labor party rules, Payman’s initial decision to cross the floor was an expellable offence. Doubling down on that decision publicly, and suggesting she’d do it again, even more so. By party logic, Albanese’s response was reasonable.
But by the logic of modern, progressive politics and a party that espouses proud diversity in leadership, this decision is an absolute and inexcusable let down.
Fatima Payman represents everything the Labor Party claims it stands for. The embodiment of some of the country’s most marginalised groups, Payman was one of the youngest women to enter federal politics and the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman standing in Parliament after being elected in the 2022 federal election.
Unlike the vast majority of exceedingly privileged, well-connected, Anglo politicians representing Australia across all jurisdictions, Payman has a lived-experience that gives her a unique and hugely valuable lens on the state of the world. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Payman’s family fled the Taliban for Pakistan when she was five years old.
Her father arrived in Australia via boat in 1999, living in immigration detention, before working as a security guard, kitchen hand and taxi driver, so he could afford to sponsor the migration of his wife and four children. Payman and the rest of the family arrived in Australia in 2003, when she was eight.
Payman was third on the Labor Party’s ticket for the Senate at the 2022 federal election. She was not expected to win a seat and said she viewed the experience as “practice” before seriously running in 2025. But Australia is fortunate that she got an early seat at the table.
Because the truth is, we need people like Senator Payman not only in politics, but in major parties. We need her perspective, her courage, her experience. Having people like Senator Payman is critical to good policies being made that represent the interests of all Australians, not just a select few.
Time and again, the Albanese government has sought to differentiate itself from the Coalition. Boasting a diverse makeup has been central to this. When first elected, the Prime Minister’s cabinet became Australia’s most diverse ever. Not only did women comprise ten of 23 cabinet ministers, there were also many MPs with diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.
But it’s not enough to simply place people there to look the part.
The power of diversity is the fact that different thoughts, ideas and points of view are put forward, valued and utilised. How can a party comprised of so many different people with wildly different backgrounds expect unwavering agreement on all party lines?
“By her own actions and statements, Senator Payman has placed herself outside the privilege that comes with participating in the federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus,” the ALP told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“If Senator Payman decides she will respect the caucus and her Labor colleagues, she can return, but until then Senator Payman is suspended from the right to participate in federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus meetings and processes.”
But is it really a “privilege” to represent a party which not only diverges fiercely from your personal position, but also makes it impossible for you to share that? To represent a party that places a line of solidarity ahead of natural-born leadership?
Payman is expected to respond publicly today, but for now will sit as a rogue senator on the crossbench.
Whether she remains there, will say it all.