Labor group praises Fatima Payman for upholding party ‘principles and policy’ to cross floor

After Anthony Albanese temporarily suspended Fatima Payman from caucus, Labor Friends for Palestine wrote to the senator declaring that she had ‘the support of thousands of rank-and-file ALP members’. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Labor Friends of Palestine have praised Fatima Payman’s decision to cross the floor to support Palestinian statehood as “entirely consistent with Labor principles and policy” and rejected federal Labor’s stance as a “weakening” of its commitment on the issue.

After Anthony Albanese temporarily suspended the senator from caucus, the group wrote to Payman declaring that she had “the support of thousands of rank-and-file ALP members”.

Following the Senate vote on Tuesday evening, Payman told reporters in Canberra she did not walk “alone” but rather with “West Australians who have stopped me in the streets and told me not to give up” and “the rank-and-file Labor party members who told me we must do more”.

In its letter to Payman, Labor Friends of Palestine thanked her for speaking out “not just on the issue of Palestinian statehood, but also in support for a permanent ceasefire and your defence of international humanitarian law”.

In recent months Payman has labelled Israel’s military action in Gaza a genocide and urged her party inside parliament and out to recognise Palestine. Israel denies the charge of genocide.

On Monday Labor unsuccessfully attempted to amend the Greens motion to include the proviso that Palestine be recognised “as part of a peace process in support of a two-state solution and a just and enduring peace”.

Labor Friends of Palestine said the party’s “commitment to recognising the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for self-determination within a sovereign state is clearly articulated in the national platform”.

Labor’s platform – affirmed most recently at the 2023 national conference – contains a commitment to support “the recognition and right of Israel and Palestine to exist as two states within secure and recognised borders”.

It calls on the Australian government to “recognise Palestine as a state”, labelling the issue an “important priority”.

“The ALP amendment proposed in the Senate yesterday represented a weakening of that commitment to Palestinian statehood,” Labor Friends of Palestine argued.

The letter said the current Israeli government “has actively undermined attempts at a peace process”. Israel’s leaders have publicly rejected proposals for a just two-state solution.

“Any attempt to make Australian recognition contingent on Israel’s participation in a peace process will only result in an indefinite delay in recognition of Palestine and makes our commitment to statehood ring hollow.”

It said “rank-and-file ALP members are overwhelmingly in support of recognition” citing motions at individual branches and the recent Victorian Labor conference motion to do so “within the term of this parliament”.

“The Australian Labor Party has a proud history of independent foreign policy underpinned by a commitment to justice and human rights,” the letter to Payman continued.

“Your public stance in solidarity with Palestine places you firmly within this tradition.”

The letter was signed by state convenors of Labor Friends of Palestine and parliamentarians including the NSW upper house members Anthony D’Adam and Cameron Murphy, NSW MPs Lynda Voltz, Nathan Hagarty and Charishma Kaliyanda and the Tasmanian shadow attorney general, Ella Haddad.

On Wednesday Albanese told the House of Representatives it was “beyond [him]” why the Greens, Liberals or Nationals had not supported Labor’s amendment for a two-state solution, describing that as the “appropriate” thing to do.

After Coalition criticisms that Payman had faced no consequences for crossing the floor, Albanese revealed “she will not be attending the Labor caucus for the rest of this session”.

Earlier, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, had suggested there would be no punishment for Payman.

Marles said social cohesion in Australia had been placed “under enormous stress” since the Hamas attacks on 7 October and Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

“We need to be doing everything in our power to bring Australians together,” he said.