The prime minister’s remarks came hours after senior minister Bill Shorten extended an olive branch to Payman,arguing she could still contribute to Labor if her dispute with the party were settled.
Senator Fatima Payman crosses the floor last week during a division on a motion to recognise a state of Palestine.Alex Ellinghausen
Albanese summoned her to The Lodge on Sunday to suspend her from Labor’s caucus and the 29-year-old claimed on Monday she had been “exiled” and intimidated by colleagues furious that she had broken party convention by crossing the floor. She said there were attempts to get her to resign from the Senate after the prime minister told her on Sunday to consider her position.
At a Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday,MPs backed a motion to suspend Payman from the caucus until she decided she could “respect” party rules. The vote was unanimous and carried “on the voices”,meaning votes were not counted because there were no MPs who opposed it.
Albanese,according to a Labor spokesman who briefed journalists on the caucus meeting,said he had received criticism for not expelling Payman. The Coalition and a small minority of Labor MPs have said Payman should face stronger penalties.
“Showing restraint and compassion is a strength,not a weakness,” the prime minister told colleagues at the caucus,according to the spokesman.
Anthony Albanese in question time on Monday.James Brickwood
Albanese told the caucus he was only prime minister because he had the word “Labor” next to his name,emphasising the importance of collectivism.
“That is true for every one of us,” Albanese added. “This is the most united caucus I’ve ever been a part of.”
Labor rules bind caucus members to the party’s collective decisions,and MPs who vote against those risk being thrown out. The last Labor MP to buck the convention was in 2005,when then-MP Harry Quick,from Tasmania,asked that his name be recorded in Hansard as dissenting to anti-terrorism legislation.
Payman was elected in 2022 in the difficult-to-win third position on Labor’s WA Senate ticket. This,who spoke anonymously to reveal private conversations,that the prime minister said at The Lodge meeting she should think about whether it was appropriate to continue holding the seat if not representing the party’s line.
Shorten,a former Labor leader,backed the prime minister’s handling of the crisis,which he said had allowed Payman to “take some time out” without expelling her for good.
“I think what the party is trying to do is give Fatima some space and time. No one’s expelling her. The Liberal Party,they,you know,they’re just a bunch of opportunistic blowflies,” Shorten said on ABC Radio National.
“Now,Fatima Payman can make a very good contribution to Labor in the future. She’s smart,she’s strong. No one’s going to push her around. She’s proven she’s tough.
“What I also understand is that when you become a Labor candidate,you actually sign a contract. And the contract is that you’ll be bound by the decisions of caucus. Now she can’t do that at the moment,it really conflicts with her other views and we completely get that.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the Payman saga was tearing Labor apart.
“There is clearly chaos infecting the Albanese government internally as they tear themselves apart over Fatima Payman,allegations of intimidation,but also now infecting critical areas of policy,” he said.
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