“My decision to cross the floor 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 these steps by myself,and I know I did not walk them alone,” Payman said during a snap press conference held minutes after the vote.
“I walked with the people of Palestine,for the 40,000 killed,for the hungry and scared boys and girls who now walk alone without their parents,and for the brave men and women who have to walk alone without their children. I walked for humanity. I am proud of what I did today,and I’m bitterly disappointed that my colleagues do not feel the same way.”
Asked if she expected to be expelled from Labor,Payman said:“That is a prerogative for my party.
“I believe that I have upheld the party ethos and called for what the party’s platform has stipulated.”
Labor rules bind caucus members to the party’s collective decisions,and MPs who vote against those risk being thrown out.
While not ruling out expulsion,a spokesperson for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office said:“There is no mandated sanction in these circumstances,and previous caucus members have crossed the floor without facing expulsion.