Anthony Albanese fires up at Fatima Payman, challenges her to quit her seat

The Prime Minister has challenged renegade Senator Fatima Payman to quit her seat and stand as an independent at the next federal election — but warned that Muslim Australians would be losers from any move to create a faith-based party.

Anthony Albanese has challenged renegade Senator Fatima Payman to quit her seat and stand as an independent at the next federal election — but warned that Muslim Australians would be losers from any move to create a faith-based party.

In his strongest criticism yet of the Western Australian who exited Labor last week, the Prime Minister said even though she had quit over Gaza, she had not given a “single speech in the two years in which she was a member of the Labor caucus” on Palestine.

Senator Payman was elected to a six-year term in 2022 as the third candidate on Labor’s WA Senate ticket. If she were to quit that seat and run at the next election instead of serving out her term, Labor would get to replace her in the Senate.

In recent days it has been reported she has been in discussion for some weeks with Muslim groups contemplating running a faith-based candidates at the next election.

Mr Albanese told The Saturday Telegraph it was up to Senator Payman “to reflect on the direction that she’s taken”.

Senator Fatima Payman announcing her resignation from the Labor Party. Picture: Martin Ollman

He said she would have to justify her decision to abandon the Labor Party to herself, and pointed out she had the “option” of standing at the next election as an independent.

Mr Albanese said her behaviour was perplexing because “at no stage did Senator Payman give a speech in the caucus, make a call to me, come to see me to express these concerns”.

“And that is disappointing, given I welcomed Senator Payman going on the Labor ticket as a senator, I campaigned for Senator Payman’s election as part of the Labor team.”

Mr Albanese said the overwhelming majority of the Muslims he had spoken to rejected the idea of a faith-based party.

“And that’s a good thing — we have a secular political system, and I lead a government that has people who are Catholics, Uniting Church, Anglicans, Jewish and Muslim.”

He said sectarian parties would undermine Australia’s multiculturalism: “If that occurs, the people who will be most vulnerable are people from minority groups”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during has challenged Ms Payman to quit her seat and stand as an independent at the next election. Picture: Martin Ollman

“People are entitled to participate in the political system, of course, in the way that they see fit, but I do make this point that Australia has many people who have fled theocracies that oppress or oppose people who aren’t of their particular faith.

“We see that, with the divisions in some countries between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. That’s not what we want to bring here to Australia.

“Overwhelmingly, what people in Australia want is for people to be able to participate on the basis of who they are, but they don’t want sectarianism brought here, to Australia.”

Muslim leaders he had spoken with “were very much of the same view”.

“They want people to participate in Australian society and to contribute as Australians. That is what we are at the end of the day, we are Australians. And that’s the society I want to bring.”

Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]