Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has claimed Senator Fatima Payman was suspended from caucus because she hamstrung the government’s ability to talk about cost-of-living relief, not because of her support for Palestinian statehood.

“It’s not because of her support for a policy position that she’s advocated, it’s because of the question that you’ve just asked me,” Albanese told ABC.

“Today is July 1. It’s a day where we want to talk about tax cuts. We want to talk about our economic support for providing that cost of living relief without putting pressure on inflation.

“And instead, you have seamlessly segued into the actions of an individual which is designed to undermine what is the collective position that the Labor Party has determined.

“No individual is bigger than the team. And Fatima Payman is welcome to return to participating in the team if she accepts she’s a member of it.”

Payman crossed the floor last week to vote for a Greens motion recognising Palestinian statehood, which Albanese slammed as a “stunt” that would not assist people in Gaza.

“This stunt from the Greens was designed to put Fatima Payman in a difficult position. It was designed to do that. It wasn’t designed to assist Palestinians in Gaza, it wasn’t designed to advance the peace process, and it was counterproductive,” he said.