Labor hits back on senator’s ‘exile’ claim
Senior Labor minister Bill Shorten has hit back at claims senator Fatima Payman has been exiled from the party, saying her colleagues are simply “giving her space” instead.
Senator Payman was suspended from Labor’s caucus for the rest of the sitting fortnight after she broke Labor rules to vote against the government in favour of a Greens’ motion supporting the recognition of Palestine as a state.
The suspension was made indefinite after she doubled down on national television and claimed she would do it again.
The regular Tuesday caucus meeting endorsed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s suspension of the Western Australian senator.
In a bombshell statement on Monday, Senator Payman said she felt intimidated by some members of the party and had been told not to vote in parliament.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister suspended me indefinitely from the Australian Labor Party caucus,” she said. “Since then I have lost all contact with my caucus colleagues. I have been removed from caucus meetings, committees, internal group chats and whips bulletins.
Labor hits back on senator’s ‘exile’ claim
“I have been told to avoid all chamber duties that require a vote including divisions, motions and matters of public interest. I have been exiled.
“These actions led me to believe that some members are attempting to intimidate me into resigning from the Senate.”
Speaking to ABC Radio on Tuesday, Mr Shorten said the senator’s Labor colleagues had been nothing but supportive and denied reports Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had asked her to resign during an emergency meeting at The Lodge on Sunday.
“I do not for one second think the Labor Party has been anything other than reaching out to her. I don’t think she’s been intimidated or exiled,” he said.
“I can’t speak for how she’s feeling, that’s up to her, but I can speak towards what I see as the objective conduct of empathetic committed colleagues.
“The reality is in as far as I can see it, and I can see them at a distance, is that people are giving her space. The fact of the matter is, if you can’t agree to the team and the coach’s instructions, then, you know, she’s on the bench for the time being.”
Mr Shorten said while he empathised with Senator Payman, she had committed when becoming a Labor candidate to voting with the party.
“When you become a Labor candidate, you actually sign a contract. And the contract is that you will be bound by the decisions of the caucus,” he said.
Senator Payman declared on Monday she would abstain from voting on senate matters for the rest of the sitting week “unless a matter of conscience arises where I’ll uphold the true value and principles of the Labor Party”.
The Albanese government supports the recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a peace process towards a two-state solution.
It had tried to amend the Greens’ motion last week to include that recognition should happen “as a part of a peace process in support of a two-state solution and a just and enduring peace”.
Senator Payman told reporters after she crossed the floor that she voted for the Greens’ motion because “we cannot believe in two-state solutions and only recognise one”.
“It was the most difficult decision I have had to make, and although each step I took across the Senate floor felt like a mile, I know I did not walk alone,” she said.