Senator Fatima Payman’s abrupt departure from the Labor Party after crossing the floor over the issue of Palestinian statehood was a very public demonstration of the tensions between party cohesion and individual conscience in the Australian political system.
Was this an act of courage, naivety, or faith? Whatever it was, Senator Payman has since faced attacks from all political quarters but the Greens, who advanced the motion in question, described by Senator Mehreen Faruqi as ‘a fundamental act of justice to recognise Palestine’.
Born in Afghanistan, Senator Payman was elected to represent the people of Western Australia in 2022. In her maiden speech she said, ‘As the daughter of a refugee who came to this land with dreams of a safe and better future, I gave myself that audacity to challenge the system and to see how far I would go, to see how much ground I could break, to see how much change I could initiate.’
Back then she spoke glowingly of Labor as the party of the downtrodden, admired by her late father, but Senator Payman has since come full circle over the government’s response to the ongoing war in Gaza, saying a few days ago, ‘Unlike my colleagues, I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of injustice. My family did not flee a war-torn country… for me to remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people.
‘Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the Party is taking.’
Crossing the floor
When Fatima Payman voted together with the Greens, David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe to recognise the state of Palestine, she made history by becoming the first Labor representative to cross the floor since Harry Quick, back in 2004, when he dissented from draconian new anti-terrorism laws.
Two others who crossed the floor during the Hawke era were promptly suspended from the party.
For the other side of politics, crossing the floor is generally much less of a big deal. In the case of several prominent Nationals, it’s actually helped their careers. The Liberal Tasmanian senator Reg Wright crossed the floor 150 times before he retired in 1978. Former Liberal senator Fred Chaney once said, ‘Crossing the floor is the stuff of which parliamentary heroes are made.’
For the ALP though, a history of loose cannons and inadequate party discipline leading to electoral disaster means that it tends to take a very hard line in these situations. Collective solidarity is cherished, especially in public. For Senator Payman this meant expulsion from the caucus, other doors slamming shut, and resignation a few days later.
For Labor, she is now officially a ‘rat’, with insiders saying she planned the defection for months, and it was not a spur of the moment thing, as Senator Payman has claimed. Although some senior Labor figures left the door open for her to return, at least initially, there’s no doubt she put Anthony Albanese in a very difficult situation when she went on television and refused to rule out crossing the floor again.
Community support
Senator Payman claims to have received ‘overwhelming community support’ since taking her stand, which she’s described as the most difficult decision of her life.
The role of ‘preference whisperer’ Glenn Druery (Payman admits consulting him) and independent political organisation The Muslim Vote (Payman says she’s not involved with them) have further complicated the situation.
As far as the ongoing war and human rights crisis in Gaza is concerned, Anthony Albanese says the problem with the Greens’ latest motion is that it didn’t mention Israel. Foreign Minister Penny Wong noted in parliament that the Greens failed to support a recent government motion that the senate ‘recognise the state of Palestine as part of a peace process in support of a two-state solution and a just and enduring peace’.
For Greens leader Adam Bandt however, ‘Senator Payman’s courageous actions show up every Labor MP who has refused to cross the floor and to vote to do the right thing.’
Fatima Payman will now take up a lonely seat for the next four years as an independent, having been elected under another party’s mantle and with another party’s money.
Jacqui Lambie managed to turn a similar situation to great personal advantage after Clive Palmer put her into parliament a few years ago, and is now a dominant force in Tasmanian politics. As to whether the people of Western Australia (or Palestine for that matter) benefit from Senator Payman’s recent actions – that’s another question.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
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