Senator Fatima Payman has quit the Labor party and pledged to be a ‘true voice’ for Palestine - as she takes aim at Albo
Senator Fatima Payman has quit the ALP and come out swinging, saying she was “intimidated” by party bigwigs - including the Prime Minister.
Former Labor Senator Fatima Payman has taken aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his chief of staff as “two big blokes” who hauled her into a disciplinary meeting at the Lodge to suspend her from the ALP caucus without allowing her to bring a support person.
Senator Payman, 29, who quit the ALP today to sit as an independent, was suspended indefinitely on Sunday by the Prime Minister, 61, after she vowed to cross the floor again if necessary on the ABC Insiders program.
That triggered an immediate response from the Prime Minister on Sunday. He called her to the Lodge that afternoon and she was photographed by the media entering and exiting the entrance alone.
“It felt quite intimidating to be there with the Prime Minister and his chief of staff, you know, two big blokes, I guess, and just me,’’ she told ABC Radio National.
Unionists have long campaigned for the right of workers to bring a support person to employment meetings, but Senator Payman said this was not offered to her at the meeting despite Mr Albanese organising his own witness in the form of chief of staff Tim Gartrell.
“And at that meeting, he gave me the decision of being suspended indefinitely,’’ she said.
“And suggested that, you know, if I do not want to follow corporate solidarity and come back inside the tent, then I must consider giving up the position that the late that I got elected because the ALP was in front of my name, and that was his suggestion.
“And after leaving that meeting, I had to start thinking about my future and what’s to come.”
News.com.au has contacted the Prime Minister’s office about Senator Payman’s complaint about how the “intimidating” meeting was handled.
Announcing she was leaving the ALP on Thursday afternoon, Senator Payman pledged to be a “true voice” for Palestine and warned that her “conscience leaves me no choice” but to strike out as an independent.
Vowing to be a “true voice” for Western Australia, Senator Payman, 29, said she exhausted every opportunity to raise her concerns.
“My family didn’t flee from a war-torn country to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people,’’ she said.
“Witnessing the government’s indifference... makes me question the direction the party is taking”.
Senator Payman, who was born in Afghanistan, said that “unlike my colleagues, I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of injustice”.
“When history looks back, it must see we stood on the right side of humanity, even when it was difficult,” she added.
“Sadly, I do not believe our principles align with those of the leadership of Labor.”
Shortly after 2 pm, Senator Payman said she had informed the Prime Minister of her decision to sit on the crossbench.
“With a heavy heart but a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australian Labor Party,’’ she said.
“I have informed the prime minister that effective immediately, I will sit on the crossbench to represent, Western Australia.”
A tearful Senator Payman said today she was “torn” by the decision and had strong support from unions and ALP supporters.
“On the other hand, I am pressured to conform to caucus solidarity and toe the party line,’’ she said.
“I see no middle ground and my conscience leaves me no choice.
“The Labor Party has always championed the rights of the marginalised and defended the common people against bullies, intimidators and exploiters.
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“The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions.
“It is a crisis that pierces the heart and soul calling us to action with a sense of urgency and moral clarity.
“We have all seen the bloodied images of young children losing limbs, being amputated with our anesthetics and starving as Israel continues its onslaught.
“I am a representative of the diverse and vibrant communities of Western Australia, I’m compelled to be their true voice.“
Senator Payman, who will keep her $233,000 salary as an independent, said she had received death threats and abusive emails.
“This has been the most difficult decision of my life and put me in a tough position,’’ she said.
“I cannot compromise on. It is a matter of principle and when I voted across the floor, it was my own conscience.”
She also rejected the Prime Minister’s suggestion she had been planning to quit for a month insisting this was “not true”.
“Look, I respect the prime minister as the leader of this nation,’’ she said.
“(But) I clearly remember being given that option of, you know, ‘you either stay, and toe party line, or you give up the position.
“It has been very difficult, to say the least, aside from receiving death threats and emails that were quite confronting, especially when it involves my family and saying all sorts of awful things.
“But we know what we sign ourselves up to when we join public office.
“I think I did not expect the Prime Minister to.. make an assumption... it felt like an accusation where I’ve been planning this for a month, because it’s not true.”
She said at this stage she did not plan to establish a new party but voters should “stay tuned.”
Husband’s warning on going independent
Her husband previously warning on his social media accounts that this would be the “worst thing to happen.”
The intensely private politician has moved to shield her husband, a Labor staffer, from the public glare, even posting wedding pictures in February that obscured his face.
But news.com.au can reveal her husband is Jacob Stokes, a ministerial staffer for the West Australian Government.
Senator Payman praised her husband in her maiden speech to Parliament confirming the taxpayer-funded Labor staffer had worked on her campaign.
“Jacob Stokes—congratulations on running the best Senate campaign Australia has ever seen, with a great deal of strategic direction and management,’’ she said.
“Thank you for putting up with my highs and lows on the campaign trail.”
Her loyal husband remains active on social media posts where he’s been backing his wife and offering his support for Palestine.
But Mr Stokes, who did not mention in the posts that he was Senator Payman’s husband, said just two months ago that resigning from the party was not the answer.
“I think the worst thing to happen would be for her to resign,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“Making government shift its foreign policy position does not happen overnight.
“She needs to work her way up, and be there to recruit more Muslims into the party and into Government.
“THAT’s how we get representation.”
In posts that were first reported by The Nightly, he said Senator Payman was doing everything she could to advocate for Palestine, including lobbying cabinet ministers.
“She attends Palestinian rallies and events but when it comes to voting in the chamber you have to vote with the party. Simple,” he said.
If she quit Labor, he suggested it would lose the “strongest Muslim voice in Parliament” and she would be replaced with “another white male”.
Mr Stokes was also front and centre on Sunday when Senator Payman conducted the bombshell interview with Insiders where she threatened to cross the floor again to support Palestine.
Senator Payman arrived for the interview with no political staffers but her husband by her side for support.
During the interview, a defiant Senator Payman warned she would cross the floor again to vote with the Greens to support Palestine if necessary.
That prompted the Prime Minister to suspend her indefinitely from the ALP caucus and consider her position.
Who is Fatima Payman?
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1995, Senator Payman is the eldest of four children
Her family fled the Taliban for Pakistan when she was five years old.
Her late father arrived in Australia via boat in 1999 and spent time in immigration detention before working as a security guard, kitchen hand and taxi driver.
She has previously revealed his exploitation was a factor in her joining a union to fight for workers’ rights.
Senator Payman arrived in Australia when she was eight before becoming head girl at the Australian Islamic College Perth.
She originally hoped to become a doctor but ended up studying for a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and sociology before studying for a Graduate Diploma of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
She joined the United Workers Union in 2018 as an organiser and rose through the ranks to become president of Young Labor WA.
In a May 2024 speech to the Senate, she criticised the Australian government for failing to sufficiently respond to Israel’s alleged war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war, and called for sanctions and divestment against Israel.
She concluded her speech by remarking “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
The accidental senator
She was elected for a six-year term in 2022 after riding the wave of ex-premier Mark McGowan’s popularity to secure a usually unwinnable third Senate spot on the ALP ticket.
But it’s her links with pro-Palestine groups that is now set to come under scrutiny, including her donations to TV studio the One Path network.
In the video, the woman criticises the Barbie movie as dangerous because it includes “feminist propaganda” and homosexuality.
It’s not clear whether Senator Payman supports these views, only that she is donating over $300 a year to the company that creates the videos.
News.com.au has contacted Senator Payman for comment.
The register does not require MPs to detail the exact donation. Senator Payman has been contacted for comment.
On YouTube, the video is titled ‘Muslim REACTS – Barbie is NOT what you think!!’
“Far from being a children’s film, this is a highly politicised film filled with messaging that is inappropriate for children, everything from crude sexual innuendos a plot around an existential crisis, homosexual references a transgender Barbie doll, and, of course, aggressive feminist propaganda,’’ the One Path network TikTok account states.
“They are greeted by a world where men are perverts, police make sexual advances on women, and a world where men are in charge of everything.”
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