‘I ticked the diversity box’: Rebel Muslim Senator Fatima Payman launches extraordinary attack on Labor government over censorship of Gazan conflict

Rebel Muslim Senator Fatima Payman has launched a blistering attack on her former party accusing it of using her as a “diversity” hire before silencing her views on the Gazan conflict.

Rebel Muslim Senator Fatima Payman has launched a blistering attack on her former party accusing it of using her as a “diversity” hire before silencing her views on the Gazan conflict.

Senator Payman, who sensationally abandoned the Labor party last month over its handling of the conflict, has revealed she was controlled, censored and silenced by senior Labor figures at “every” public event.

The 29-year-old Senator from Western Australian also revealed these political figures would even vet her speeches at official events to stamp out any problematic lines.

“Every move, every interaction, every event I went to, every speech I delivered was controlled, was reviewed,” she said.

“I was told what to say, what not to say.

“There comes a point where you lose your agency as an individual and you wonder, what am I doing here.”

P<M Anthony Albanese and rebel senator Fatima Payman.

Senator Payman also spoke of feeling like she had only been selected to tick a “diversity box” before the party began censoring her diverse views on the controversial conflict in the middle east. “I don’t think the Labor Party was ready for me,” she said.

“It is great to have somebody who ticks the diversity box, but that diversity in appearance comes with diversity in thoughts and values and representation.

Senator Fatima Payman holds a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“If parties do not recognise and appreciate and allow for voices of dissent and difference of views, then I don’t think they’re fit for purpose and fit to lead, in particular because modern day Australia looks very different to what it did 50 years ago.”

Senator Payman represents a growing divide in the Australian Islamic community, with traditional Labor supporters of Muslim faith in safe seats turning on the party.

“Just thinking about it sometimes just makes my blood boil,” she said.

“I feel like the same Labor Party that I campaigned so hard for wasn’t the same Labor Party that I found myself fighting against.”

Senator Payman said there was a real danger to political parties not allowing divergent viewpoints in political debates, calling into question Labor’s long held tradition of caucus solidarity that prevents members from voting against the party.

“If parties do not recognise and appreciate and allow for voices of dissent and differences of views, then I don’t think they’re fit for purpose and fit to lead.

“In particular, because modern day Australia looks very different to what it did 50 year ago.”

— Clash of Faiths: The fight for Muslim votes’ premieres Tuesday at 7:30pm on Sky News Australia.