Differences must be backed in modern Australia: Payman
Kat Wong and Dominic Giannini |
Contemporary Australia is full of diverse communities and Labor must celebrate dissenting voices if it wants to represent them, Fatima Payman says.
The WA senator has moved to the cross bench after quitting the party over her stance on Palestinian rights and freedoms.
Her resignation had been anticipated since crossing the floor to support a Greens motion on Palestinian statehood and vowing to do so again.
In the days leading up to announcing her final decision on Thursday, she described feeling isolated and exiled by her Labor colleagues.
Diversity and multiculturalism is welcomed by the party, but there must be an understanding of what those experiences bring, Senator Payman said.
“Being a daughter of a refugee coming from a war-torn country, having seen devastation and experienced it, even if it was second-hand, through the trauma that my family had gone through … these are experiences that shape an individual’s perspective,” she told ABC Radio on Friday.
“If the Labor Party wants to continue representing modern day Australia, they really need to embrace the differences that are to be voiced within their ranks, and perhaps even allow those conscience votes from time to time,” she said.
“Because what Australia is looking like today is very different to what it was 20, 30 years ago.”
Taking a stronger stance to support people in Gaza and action against Israel was a human rights issue, she said, pointing to the 38,000 people reportedly killed in the besieged enclave, and Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The senator said Indigenous incarceration and mental health are other issues she is passionate about, and felt the government could go further on.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said there were plenty of forums within Labor to debate issues, and disagreed with the idea that more MPs should be allowed to cross the floor.
“We argue, we agree, and ultimately we land on a position and that is how, us as individuals, stick together with a caucus position,” she told ABC Radio.
Senator Payman said she had raised the recognition of Palestine, which Labor has affirmed to do but with no timeline and some caveats, with the prime minister and senior ministers but was unable to secure change.
Timely recognition was needed to put pressure on Israel to “cease its onslaught” in Gaza and was something she told political leaders she couldn’t compromise on, she said.
This comes as senior Labor figures raise questions about Senator Payman’s Afghan citizenship, according to a report in The Australian.
It could be in breach of Section 44 of the Constitution which bars foreign citizens and dual citizens from sitting in Parliament.
Senator Payman has attempted to renounce that citizenship, which has proved almost impossible since the Taliban regained control of the nation.
But Senator Gallagher said she had “no idea” where the story had come from given the extensive vetting procedures for Labor candidates.
Senator Payman said her position on Palestine, paired with her status as the first woman to wear a hijab in the Australian parliament, has caused her to be “singled out” for her faith.
“There are many religious people that are serving currently and just because I wear a hijab, people are visibly able to identify me as a religious person – but in saying that – the way I conduct myself is in the interests of the people,” she said.
With her defection came suggestions Muslim political parties would target Labor seats at the upcoming federal election.
Though Senator Payman has denied claims she would join these efforts or start her own movement, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton maintains these parties would worsen the economy.
“If you vote for these candidates, you end up voting for Anthony Albanese in a minority government, which will be a disaster for the economy,” he told Nine’s Today program.
AAP
