Labor Senator Fatima Payman says she is considering her future after being suspended from caucus

Labor Senator Fatima Payman says she is considering her future after she said she had been exiled by the party after being suspended from caucus.

Rogue Labor senator Fatima Payman says she has been ‘exiled’ by the party after the Prime Minister suspended her indefinitely on Sunday and is considering her future.

But in a statement released after question time, she flagged she would she was prepared to again defy Anthony Albanese and vote if “a matter conscience arises”.

“Yesterday, the Prime Minister suspended me indefinitely from the Australian Labor Party caucus,” she said in a statement.

“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.

“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.

“As a result I will abstain from voting on Senate matters for the remainder of the week, unless a matter of conscience arises where I’ll uphold the true value and principles of the Labor Party.

“I will use this time to reflect on my future an the best way to represent the people of Western Australia.”

Suspended Labor senator Fatima Payman says she will abstain from voting during the rest of the sitting week. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Senator Payman was initially suspended from caucus for the rest of the sitting fortnight after she broke Labor rules to vote against the government and in favour of a Greens’ motion supporting the recognition of Palestine as a state.

Bur she was suspended from caucus indefinitely on Sunday after gave an interview were she said she would cross the floor again to support Palestine, despite warnings from the Prime Minister and other senior government leaders.

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.

Senator Fatima Payman was initially suspended for the rest of the sitting fortnight after crossing the floor to support the Greens’ motion to recognise Palestine as a state. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese on Monday morning said Senator Payman was welcome to return to caucus “if she followed the rules.

He said her decision to appear on ABC’s Insiders and vow to go against Labor’s position on Palestinian statehood was deliberately disruptive when the government was trying to focus on the economy.

Mr Albanese said Senator Payman’s comments and the timing of them made her continued participation in Labor caucus meetings untenable.

However he was careful to add she was not suspended due to her “support for a policy position that she’s advocated”.

He said her actions were designed to “undermine what is the collective position that the Labor Party has determined” and “disrupted” the launch of Labor’s cost-of-living policies.

“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,” he told ABC Radio.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Senator Payman had been deliberately disruptive. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“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.”

While Coalition members are able to cross the floor and vote in opposition to the party line, Mr Albanese said ALP rules would not change.

“What we have is a process where people participate, people respect each other and people don’t engage in indulgence, such as the decision last week,” he said.

“Pretending the Senate recognises states is quite frankly untenable.”

Meawhile, a new political organisation has emerged to unseat Labor MPs following Muslim community anger over the government’s Gaza stance.

A spokesperson for The Muslim Vote told the ABC the “grassroots” campaign group had been formed from a desire to “mobilise the Muslim community to vote as a bloc in the next federal election, predominantly on the issue of justice in Palestine.”

The spokesperson for The Muslim Vote said “no discussion” had been had with Senator Payman, but said “you can’t rule something out in the future”.

“I’m aware of what she’s done... I think it’s a good solid stand, and obviously The Muslim Vote absolutely supports her and the Muslim community absolutely supports her.”

Originally published as Labor Senator Fatima Payman says she is considering her future after being suspended from caucus